TOKYO—Japan stocks notched an eighth straight gain Friday, fueled by the latest signs of economic recovery -- rising U.S. home sales and bullish corporate earnings.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average rose 151.61 points, or 1.6 percent, to 9,944.55. The broader Topix index advanced 1.3 percent to 920.48.
The Nikkei has soared almost 10 percent over the last eight days, edging closer to the psychologically key 10,000 level last hit on June 15.
Overnight in New York, the Dow Jones industrials jumped 2.1 percent after data showed sales of previously occupied homes rose for the third month in a row in June. Better-than-expected profits at some of the nation's biggest companies, including Ford Motor Co., also lifted sentiment.
The optimism spilled over to Japan where investors keep a close eye on the U.S. -- a major market for the world's second biggest economy and a key driver of a global rebound.
Exporters also benefited from a dollar that hovered just under the 95-yen line, compared with around 93 yen earlier this week. A stronger yen reduces the value of exporters' overseas profits when repatriated to Japan.
Panasonic Corp. shot up 8.3 percent to 1,376 yen, Canon Inc. jumped 4.4 percent to 3,300 yen, and Sharp Corp. rose 4.2 percent to 960 yen.
Shares of Fujitsu Ltd. closed up 4.1 percent at 565 yen. In its new mid-term business plan unveiled Thursday, the company aims for a record net profit of 130 billion yen for the year ending March 2012.
It posted a net loss of 112 billion yen last fiscal year.
"We find the new business plan meaningful because it represents a major change in revenue structure, with IT services playing a pivotal role," said Takeo Miyamoto, an analyst for Deutsche Securities Inc. in Tokyo.
Among decliners were Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., which disappointed investors who had expected the drugmaker to raise its earnings forecasts. It posted a 2.5 percent rise in net profit for the April-June period but left its full-year outlook unchanged.
Shares of Chugai fell 1.5 percent to 1,806 yen.
In currencies, the dollar was trading at 94.87 yen from 95.02 yen late Thursday. The euro rose to $1.4216 from $1.4157.
