Tokyo stocks were mixed Friday morning, as modest bargain-hunting offset earlier losses that tracked overnight falls on Wall Street.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average fell 138.18 points, or 0.36 percent, from Thursday to 38,782.08. The broader Topix index was up 5.12 points, or 0.19 percent, at 2,742.66.
The U.S. dollar rose to the upper 155 yen range in Tokyo on prospects of a wider interest rate differential between Japan and the United States after long-term U.S. Treasury yields rose overnight.
The yen was additionally sold after the Bank of Japan said it would keep its regular operation purchase amount of Japanese government bonds on Friday unchanged from the previous occasion after unexpectedly reducing the amount earlier this week.
At noon, the U.S. dollar fetched 155.87-88 yen compared with 155.35-45 yen in New York and 154.41-42 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Thursday.
The euro was quoted at $1.0857-0858 and 169.23-25 yen against $1.0861-0871 and 168.82-92 yen in New York, and $1.0874-0875 and 167.91-95 yen in Tokyo late Thursday afternoon.
Stocks opened lower, pressured by losses on Wall Street as caution over an overheated market took hold after the Dow Jones index topped the 40,000 line for the first time before closing down, analysts said.
But the downside was limited as investors scooped up battered stocks on continued expectations for dividends and share buybacks, brokers said, with the Topix index staying in positive territory for most of the morning.
"Rather than a specific event lifting the market today, it is more about the interchange of people looking to buy and sell, leading to mixed trading," said Masahiro Yamaguchi, head of investment research at SMBC Trust Bank.
