TOKYO, Nov. 19, 2010 (Xinhua News Agency) -- Tokyo stocks finished higher Friday, with the key Nikkei stock index edging up 0.09 percent to narrowly stay above the psychologically important 10,000 line and book a fresh five-month closing high, as a weakening yen and optimistic global outlook leant the market support. Brokers said the market gained in early trade Friday from Wall Street's rise overnight, with techs, financials and automakers among the notable advancers, but profit taking following robust gains made after the Nikkei rose more than 2 percent yesterday, capped the incline, despite a comparatively weak yen and upbeat economic news from the U.S. and debt-laden Ireland. Strategists said that concerns receded about the yen's appreciation following reports from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia showing manufacturing in the region expanded in November at the fastest pace this year. In addition, U.S. Labor Department figures showed that applications for unemployment insurance rose less than economists' expectations and Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said he is willing to discuss a bank rescue with the European Union and International Monetary Fund. "Fears about the health of the U.S. economy are subsiding and investor concerns about Ireland's fiscal health are abating somewhat as the position is becoming clearer," said one local equities manager. "Inflows of funds from foreign investors are also providing support for the market as the strong yen had previously made this untenable and Japanese shares had fallen behind in global terms," he said. "Many hedge funds close books in November and now is a time when short-covering tends to emerge. Solid U.S. economic data and GM's listing yesterday are also lending help," added Hiroaki Kuramochi, chief equity marketing officer at Tokai Tokyo Securities. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 8.76 points, or 0.09 percent, from Thursday to 10,022.39, the highest closing since June 22, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed up 0.71 point, or 0.08 percent, to 869.52. Gains however were trimmed ahead of the weekend and other Asian bourses closing in negative territory sent some market players to the sidelines for further cues. "Having gained mainly on short-covering, shares trimmed gains ahead of the weekend, and as Shanghai and Hong Kong shares were in negative territory. We'll need to see how far the rally will continue," said Masayuki Otani, market analyst at Securities Japan Inc. The yen reached 83.79 against the dollar during trading hours Friday, its weakest level since Oct. 5, but not all exporters capitalized and Japanese firms reliant on overseas income closed mixed. Among the gainers, Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE:TM) rose 1.6 percent to 3,265 yen and Nissan edged up 0.3 percent to 802 yen. Advantest added 0.6 percent to 1,681 yen and Pioneer Corp. (OOTC:PNCOY) leapt 4.3 percent to 317 yen. Meanwhile, Panasonic Corp. (NYSE:PC) advanced 1.5 percent to close at 1,240 yen. Banking shares extended gains with Mizuho Financial Group (NYSE:MFG) rising 1.5 percent to 136 yen and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (NYSE:MTU) adding 0.5 percent to 414 yen. Nomura Holdings climbed 8 yen, or 1.7 percent, to close at 495 yen. "Financial stocks are rebounding after a sell-off if the market environment improves, that should support financial stocks. We can expect that earnings will improve," said a local asset manager. T&D Holdings Inc. jumped 3 percent to 1,953 yen after the insurer more than doubled its net profit to 22.3 billion yen (267. 5 million U.S. dollars) in the April-September half from the same period last year, beating the company's forecast by 11 percent. JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) and Nomura Holdings (NYSE:NMR) Inc. increased their share price estimates for T&D Holdings. Trading volume on Friday fell to 2.14 billion shares on the Tokyo Exchange's First Section, down from 2.44 billion on Thursday.

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