TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market has finished higher in four straight sessions, collecting almost 2,100 points or 3 percent along the way. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 68,710-point plateau although investors may lock in gains on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak on profit taking and rising oil prices. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference on Monday.
The Nikkei finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares, properties, technology stocks and automobile producers.
For the day, the index added 405.20 points or 0.59 percent to finish at 68,713.80 after trading between 68,471.15 and 69,608.24.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened slightly higher on Friday but quickly tailed off and fell under water for the balance of the day.
The Dow sank 107.59 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 53,732.41, while the NASDAQ shed 73.84 points or 0.28 percent to end at 26,729.16 and the S&P 500 dipped 13.23 points or 0.17 percent to close at 7,785.23.
For the week, the Dow slid 0.6 percent, while the NASDAQ crept up 0.1 percent and the S&P 500 rose 0.4 percent.
The modest pullback on Wall Street reflected profit taking following the upward move seen in the two previous sessions, which lifted the S&P 500 to a record intraday high above 7,800. Also, the tech-heavy NASDAQ reached its highest closing level in over two months.
In economic news, the University of Michigan noted a significant deterioration in U.S. consumer sentiment in August. Also, the Commerce Department reported an unexpected decline in U.S. retail sales in July.
Crude oil prices surged on Friday as the U.S. and Iran continue to spar on their demands, leaving the Strait of Hormuz shut for shipping traffic. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was up $1.05 or 1.29 percent at $82.30 per barrel.
Closer to home, Japan will provide preliminary Q2 data for gross domestic product and revised June figures for industrial production and the tertiary industry index.
GDP is expected to rise 0.5 percent on quarter and 2.0 percent on year. That follows the 0.5 percent quarterly increase and the 1.8 percent yearly gain in the three months prior. Capex is tipped to add 0.4 percent on quarter after falling 0.7 percent in the previous three months. The previous reading for industrial production suggested an increase of 1.3 percent on month, while the tertiary index had a score of -1.4 in May.
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