Japanese stocks ended in positive territory on Friday as bargain-hunters picked up recently battered exporters, but overall gains were limited amid worries about the direction of oil prices and U.S. interest rates. Auto makers including Nissan Motor Co <7201.T> drew buying after recent falls made them relatively attractive to investors. Technology stocks also headed north following a positive outlook by Intel Corp , the world's largest computer chip maker. Investors remained wary, however, as they were unconvinced about a fall in oil prices even after OPEC decided the previous day to boost its official output limit by two million barrels per day, analysts said. Investors are also holding their breath to see the outcome of a U.S. jobs report due at 1230 GMT, which is expected to provide clues to when and by how much the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise its interest rates from a four-decade low of one percent.
The Nikkei average <.N225> added 0.92 percent to close at 11,128.05, bouncing back from a 1.91 percent drop on Thursday. The broader TOPIX index <.TOPX> rose 0.48 percent to 1,124.97, having swung between gains and losses during the day. "The market has been weighed down by oil and U.S. rate hike concerns, as well as selling by foreign hedge funds ahead of their (mid-year) settlement," said Kazunori Ohtomo, senior fund manager at STB Asset Management. "But the market is also finding solid support from strong fundamentals at home, including bright corporate earnings... (Japanese) stocks are likely to move higher once oil and U.S. rate fears calm down a bit." Trading was light as investors were reluctant to build long positions ahead of the weekend, and also before the release of the U.S. employment figures for May. Only 1.061 billion shares changed hands on the first section, the lowest daily total since Thursday last week, and compared with 1.420 billion on Thursday this week. Advancers outnumbered decliners 1,002 to 431. Shares of Nissan, Japan's second-biggest auto maker, gained 3.89 percent to 1,123 yen after falling 5.26 percent over the previous eight sessions. Tokyo Electron Ltd <8035.T>, the world's second-biggest maker of chip manufacturing equipment, was up 2.05 percent at 5,970 yen after Intel narrowed the range of its revenue forecast for the second quarter to the upper end of its outlook.
Camera and copier maker Canon Inc <7751.T> gained 2.2 percent to 5,580 yen after the company said on Friday it was likely to beat its earnings forecast for the quarter to June by more than 20 percent on demand for colour copiers and digital cameras.///