TOKYO, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index closed higher Friday following Wall Street's overnight advance, as rising U.S. jobless claims eased concerns over further aggressive interest rate hikes hitting the U.S. economy.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 326.58 points, or 1.18 percent, from Thursday to close the day at 27,901.01.
The broader Topix index, meanwhile, added 20.06 points, or 1.03 percent, to finish at 1,961.56.
Local brokers said that data in the U.S. showing jobless claims rose to a 10-month high, increasing by 4,000 to 230,000 for the week ending Dec. 3., increased hopes the Federal Reserve may stop hiking its interest rates earlier than expected.
They added that the prospect of the Fed easing its monetary policy at the conclusion of its meeting next week helped lift U.S. shares and orient investors here and eased concerns over a recession hitting the U.S. economy.
"I didn't expect stocks to rise this much today. Investors had already sold shares earlier this week driven by a sense of caution ahead of the Fed's meeting so stocks were ready to shoot up once there is a trigger," Makoto Sengoku, senior equity market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute, was quoted as saying.
High technology issues followed their U.S. peers higher as the Nasdaq closed higher overnight, on hopes for increased demand, market strategists here said.
"The Nasdaq's gain overnight boosted sentiment and Japanese shares tracked U.S. technology stocks higher," Yugo Tsuboi, a senior strategist at Daiwa Securities, was quoted as saying.
By the close of play, precision instrument, electric power and gas, and electric appliance issues comprised those that gained the most.
Chip-related issues finding favor included Advantest jumping 5.8 percent, while fellow heavyweight Tokyo Electron climbed 2.9 percent.
Electric component maker TDK leapt 3.4 percent, while technology investor SoftBank Group helped prop-up the broader market, gaining 1.2 percent.
Utilities advanced, with the sector outperforming, with Kansai Electric Power rising 2.6 percent, while Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings jumped 5.5 percent.
Issues that rose outpaced those that fell by 1,387 to 372 , while 77 ended the day unchanged.
On the Prime Market on Friday, 1,125.88 million shares changed hands, rising from Thursday's volume of 1,091.11 million shares.
The turnover on the final trading day of the week came to 2,932.13 billion yen (21.52 billion U.S. dollars). ■