The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 30.95 points, or 0.14 percent, from Thursday to 22,386.41. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the
Gainers were led by air transportation and land transportation issues, while major decliners included steel and iron, and insurance issues.
In the currency market, the
The euro was quoted at
Investors took heart after the government went ahead with its plan to lift inter-prefectural travel curbs designed to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus, which helped lift airlines and railway operators.
"The lifting (of restrictions) will allow people to travel freely on business and vacations, helping virus-hit economies across the country," said
But fears that such easing may set off another wave of outbreaks put the brakes on shares' upside, brokers said, pointing to recent spikes in daily new infection counts in some
On the First Section, declining issues outnumbered advancers 1,338 to 702, while 122 ended the morning unchanged.
Steelmakers struggled due to worries about possible re-impositions of factory shutdowns globally.
==Kyodo
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