The Nikkei index closed slightly higher before the Federal Reserve Chairman’s speech

Japanese shares closed slightly higher on Friday, after giving up some of their early gains, as investors awaited a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to look for any clues on the pace of US monetary tightening.

The Nikkei index closed up by 0.57 percent at 28,641.38 points, after rising earlier in the session to 28,792.93 points.

The broader Topix index also gave up some of its early gains to close 0.15 percent higher at 1979.59 points.

The market received support from the rise led by technology stocks in Wall Street last night, with the decline in US Treasury bond yields, as many Federal Reserve officials were conservative about the rate of interest rate hike that they will agree to at their meeting next month.

Powell will deliver a speech at the Federal Reserve’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, at 1400 GMT.

The Nikkei recorded a weekly decline of one percent, after rising for three weeks.

Among the 225 stocks listed on the Nikkei index, 134 rose, compared to 83 decreased, and eight stabilized.

Industrial stocks recorded the best performance, followed by basic materials and technology stocks, while energy stocks were the biggest losers after the drop in crude oil prices last night.