Japanese Nikkei index closed higher

Japan’s Nikkei erased early losses to close higher on Friday, as sentiment was boosted by a rise in US futures after Wall Street’s losses Thursday night, as well as a decline in the yen.

The Nikkei ended the session up 0.56% to 26,553.53 points, after it had fallen 0.3% earlier in the day on the impact of Wall Street’s losses.

The index recorded a weekly increase of 1.66 percent.

The broader Topix index rose 0.59% to 1926.87 points, and rose 1.25% during the week.

US stock indices closed lower on Thursday night after data indicated a scarcity in the labor market, renewing fears that the Federal Reserve will continue its course of aggressively raising interest rates, which could lead the economy to recession.

Fast Retailing, which owns the Uniqlo brand, rose 0.94 percent. Air-conditioning maker Daikin Industries rose 2.09 percent, and telecom company KDDI rose 1.27 percent.

Airlines shares jumped 3.18% to top 33 sub-indices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the government would consider reviewing COVID-19 measures by spring and downgrading the disease to a less severe category.

Chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron fell 0.18 percent. Online medical services platform M3 fell 1.44 percent.