Summary "The yen at around 110 to the dollar isn't too bad for exporters."
TOKYO (AFP) - Tokyo stocks rose on Friday morning after falling for two straight sessions, with exporters boosted by a weaker yen as the dollar edged up on re-emerging talk of a possible US interest rate hike by June.
With most regional markets closed for the Easter break there were few catalysts to drive trade at the end of an up-and-down week that was marred by the Brussels terror attacks.
Toyota and Sony were among the biggest gainers as the yen, which has rallied against the greenback since earlier this month when the Federal Reserve lowered its rate hike forecasts for this year.
But a healthy run-up in March for world markets, following a string of easing measures by central banks, has stoked positive sentiment, and analysts say Fed policymakers could now consider another hike in April or June.
In early trade the dollar bought 113.07 yen Friday, compared with 112.88 yen Thursday in New York. A weaker yen boosts exporters profits from overseas. That tends to lift demand for their shares.
"We haven t had a lot of material to move on this week," Mitsuo Shimizu, equity strategist at Japan Asia Securities Group, told Bloomberg News.
"The yen at around 110 to the dollar isn t too bad for exporters."
Tokyo s benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.47 percent, or 79.50 points, to 16,971.83 by the break, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares gained 0.56 percent, or 7.57 points, to 1,362.18.
There was little response to figures showing Japanese inflation remained at zero in February for the second month in a row.
Automakers were among the main winners. Toyota surged 1.96 percent to 6,129 yen, Nissan tacked on 1.65 percent to 1,077.5 yen and Honda soared 2.69 percent to 3,089 yen.
Sony gained 0.87 percent to 2,888 yen and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing, a market heavyweight, was up 0.68 percent at 36,490 yen.
Trading houses Mitsui and Mitsubishi rebounded from steep losses the previous day after both companies this week said they expected to log their first ever full-year net losses due to impairments on resources projects.
Mitsui, which slumped 7.50 percent on Thursday, climbed 3.00 percent to 1,338.5 yen. Mitsubishi advanced 3.12 percent to 1,980 yen after tumbling more than four percent the previous day.
