TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Mixed to higher open is expected Friday for Japan stocks, as traders saw Wall Street power higher once again overnight.
The Tokyo stock market broke a seven-session streak of gains on Thursday, posting a modest loss.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 average declined 11.34 points or 0.11 percent to 10,071.14.
The TOPIX index of all shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section dropped 3.03 points or 0.35 percent to 870.48.
Trading volume was 1.82 billion shares.
Advancing stocks outnumbered decliners 792 to 707 with 174 closing unchanged.
The utilities sector was a weak spot for the market as worries arose about more delays in bringing the country's shut-down nuclear power generators back on line. Among the individual companies, Kansai Electric Power was down 8.0 percent, Chubu Electric Power fell 7.0 percent and Kyushu Electric fell 7.5 percent.
In U.S. trading on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 93.47 points or 0.74 percent to close at 12,719.49, the Nasdaq Composite index was up 38.64 points or 1.36 percent at 2,872.66 and the S&P 500 index rose 14.00 points or 1.05 percent to 1,353.22.
The other major Asia/Pacific region markets were mixed on Thursday.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 12.63 points or 0.06 percent at 22,530.18.
China's Shanghai Composite index was down 16.21 points or 0.58 percent at 2,794.27.
In India, the BSE 30/SENSEX index was up 351.33 points or 1.88 percent at 19.078.30
Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index was up 30.52 points or 0.78 percent at 3,939.47.
South Korea's KOSPI/Seoul Composite index was up 9.40 points or 0.43 percent at 2,180.59.
The Taiwan Weighted Index was down 51.20 points or 0.58 percent at 8,773.42.
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