TOKYO, May 7 (Reuters) - Japanese shares ended higher on Friday as investors scooped up cheap technology stocks, while concerns around the slow economic recovery due to the extension of COVID-19 emergency measures capped gains.
The Nikkei share average .N225 ticked up 0.09% to close at 29,357.82, while the broader Topix .TOPX rose 0.29% to 1,933.05. Both indexes inched down earlier in the session after rising the most in two weeks on Thursday.
"The market rose too much yesterday so investors sold shares to book profits, but as soon as the indexes fell, they quickly started looking for bargains, particularly those which reported positive earnings," said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Securities.
"But the gain was limited as investors were concerned that it could take some more time until Japan's economy will be normalized due to the extension of the state of emergency."
Japan is set to extend a state of emergency in Tokyo and three other areas by about three weeks until the end of May to curb a surge in coronavirus cases. shares advanced, with heavyweight Tokyo Electron 8035.T rising 2.38% as investors took a second look at the positive outlook of the chip equipment maker. test equipment supplier Advantest 6857.T rose 0.88%, while robot maker Fanuc 6954.T gained 1.15%.
On the other hand, Nintendo 7974.T lost 1.95% after the game maker forecast annual sales of its Switch console to fall 11.5%. Steel 5401.T jumped 5.71%, making it the biggest gainer on the Nikkei, as the steel manufacturer's 240 billion yen ($2.2 billion) annual net profit forecast beat analyst estimates.
Trading house Mitsubishi Corp 8058.T fell 3.97% and was the biggest loser on the index, posting a 68% decline in its annual net profit.
($1 = 109.0700 yen)