Tokyo's Nikkei closes at highest level since 1991

Tokyo's key Nikkei index closed up Friday, hitting its highest level since 1991, despite continued uncertainty over the outcome of the US presidential election.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 0.91 per cent or 219.95 points to end at 24,325.23, the highest level since November 1991. Over the week, the index rallied 5.9 per cent.

The broader Topix index closed up 0.52 per cent or 8.55 points at 1,658.49. Over the week, the index climbed 5.0 per cent.

Japanese indexes started in negative territory, adjusting recent gains and reacting to a stronger yen against the dollar.

"But investors later resumed bargain-hunting purchases on the backdrop of easing uncertainties over the US presidential election," Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary.

US President Donald Trump erupted in a tirade of unsubstantiated claims that he is being cheated out of winning the US election as vote counting across battleground states showed Democrat Joe Biden closing in on victory.

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But the outburst did little to move the market in Tokyo.

The dollar traded at 103.58 yen in Asian trade, against 103.55 yen in New York and 104.30 yen in Tokyo late Thursday.

In Tokyo, Toyota ended up 0.50 per cent at 7,019 yen after it said it almost doubled its full-year forecasts, saying sales and production were recovering quickly from the coronavirus pandemic.

Its smaller rival Honda was up 2.51 per cent at 2,589.5 yen before releasing earnings after the closing bell.

The automaker upgraded its full-year forecast, projecting net profit at 390 billion yen for the current year, compared with an earlier estimate of 165 billion yen.

Nintendo ended down 0.17 per cent at 57,810 yen on profit-taking after starting with gains following its announcement its first-half net profit soared 243.6 per cent on-year while upgrading its full-year sales and profit forecasts.

Eisai rallied 3.70 per cent to 10,240 yen, a day after the pharmaceutical firm surged 17.91 per cent to the day's cap on a US Food and Drug Administration report saying an experimental Alzheimer's therapy it co-developed with Biogen appears effective.

Japan's household spending dipped 10.2 per cent in September on-year, according to the internal affairs ministry data released before the opening bell.

The figure was largely in line with market expectations of a 10.5 per cent drop, as consumers refrained from spending, particularly on transportation and leisure activities.