Japan stocks rise on US, European gains

Japanese shares climbed Friday as overnight gains on US and European markets improved investor sentiment, as dpa reported. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 51.98 points, or 0.53 per cent, to close at 9,868.07. The broader-based Topix index was up 4.64 points, or 0.55 per cent, at 853.86. The rises came after the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.25 per cent in New York on hopes that Greece would avoid a default after German banks indicated a willingness to cooperate on Athens' debt. For the week, the Nikkei was up 1.96 per cent while the Topix rose 2.48 per cent. Business sentiment among large Japanese manufacturers deteriorated in the aftermath of the March earthquake and tsunami, the Bank of Japan's quarterly Tankan survey showed Friday. The index for big manufacturers for the April-to-June quarter plunged to minus 9 from plus 6 in the previous quarter, the closely watched survey showed. The Tankan shows the percentage of companies saying business conditions are good, minus those who say they are poor. Negative readings indicate that the majority of respondents feel pessimistic about the business environment. The survey also showed, however, that sentiment among large manufacturers in the world's third-largest economy was expected to improve to plus 2 in the next quarter. Meanwhile, the nation's key consumer price index climbed 0.6 per cent in May from a year earlier, the second-consecutive month of increase in a country plagued by deflation, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said Friday. In April, the index rose for the first rise in more than two years. The ministry also said Japan's unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level in more than two years, falling to 4.5 per cent in May. On currency markets at 3 pm (0600 GMT), the dollar traded at 80.69-72 yen, up from Thursday's 5 pm quote of 80.41-42 yen. The euro traded at 1.4514-4517 dollars, up from 1.4489-4490 dollars Thursday, and at 117.14-15 yen, up from 116.51-55 yen.