Roundup: Nikkei gains 1.17 pct on yen's retreat, ECB's QE move

The Nikkei stock index rallied 1.17 percent Friday as a weaker yen lifted investor sentiment, coupled by the European Central Bank's (ECB) new quantitive easing move to start buying bonds, as the market keenly eyed a jobs report due out from the U.S. after the closing bell.

The Nikkei 225 index gained 219.16 points to end the week at 18, 971.00, while the broader Topix index of all first-section issues advanced 1.12 percent, or 17.12 points, to finish at 1,540.84.

ECB chief Mario Draghi announced at a press conference that from Monday the central bank will begin buying public bonds to increase the current size of its asset purchasing program.

Draghi said the new program will run until September 2016 and possibly beyond, and added that it would be extended if inflation isn't brought within the bank's target of just below 2 percent.

Local analysts said the move was very much expected by the market, but well-received, along with a global shift towards more easing and accommodative monetary policy by central banks.

They added that currency markets had responded well to the move and the yen's depreciation was supporting exporters on the last trading day of the week.

Details of European easing measures have been disclosed and the yen is maintaining 120 to the dollar.

"These factors should push up stocks. If investors take to the weakening yen, they'll turn their attention to exporters," said Juichi Wako, a senior strategist at Nomura Holdings Inc.

In forex markets, the U.S. dollar was changing hands at 120.01 yen, compared to 120.14 yen logged in New York, considerably higher than 119.85 yen mark hit in Tokyo earlier Thursday.

A weak yen supports exporters because their competitiveness in overseas markets is boosted, as are their profit margins, and the yields they repatriate inflate on favorable exchange rates.

But gains were kept in check, local brokers said, as investors in later trade switched their attention to the U.S. monthly jobs report, which is likely to have a significant bearing on when the U.S. Federal Reserve decides to hike its interest rate.

Among export-related issues, top automaker Toyota accelerated 1. 58 percent to 8,190 yen, while Canon rose 2.04 percent to close at 4,000 yen and rival Konica Minolta advanced 1.45 percent to end at 1,255 yen.

Financial shares like Japan's biggest bank Mitsubishi UFJ found traction, with Japan's biggest lender gaining 2.83 percent to close the week at 778 yen.

Sekisui House was a notable gainer Friday, jumping 4.2 percent to 1,723 yen, on news it plans to buyback 1.86 percent of shares and will post an operating profit outlook of 153 billion yen for the current fiscal year.

Insurance giant Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Holdings gained 1.91 percent to 3,771 yen, following newspaper reports the firm will buy a 15 percent stake in French reinsurance company Scor for around 110 billion yen (910 million U.S. dollars).

Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma was also in the spotlight Friday, surging 12 percent to 1,522 yen. Nomura hiked its target price on the stock from 1,600 yen to 2,200 yen and maintained its "buy" rating on the firm's stock.

But FamilyMart slumped 2.2 percent to 5,370 yen, following news of a potential merger with UNY Group Holdings, which would theoretically make the new group the second-largest convenience store operator in Japan after Seven-Eleven Japan Co. Talks are still pending, reports stated, however, Uny, for its part, surged 11 percent to finish the week at 737 yen.

Trading volume on Friday increase to 2.12 billion shares on the Tokyo Exchange's First Section, up from Thursday's volume of 1.82 billion shares, with advancing issues outpacing declining ones by 1,166 to 549. Endi