Tokyo stocks up 0.26% by break

Tokyo stocks cast off early losses to rise 0.26 percent Friday morning, extending gains after a 10-day rally, and heading for the longest winning streak in more than a quarter of a century.

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange added 54.22 points to 20,605.68 by the break, while the Topix index of all first-section shares rose 0.17 percent, or 2.90 points, at 1,675.66.

Shortly before markets opened, Japan posted a lacklustre string of economic data including a drop in household spending as well as weak inflation and factory output figures.

But investors took the slightly better-than-expected consumer price data as a positive sign, although the weak spending figures held back Tokyo's upside, said Toshihiko Matsuno, senior strategist at SMBC Friend Securities,

"The string of economic data released today was a mixed bag of positive and negative numbers but at least inflation beat market forecasts," he told AFP.

The gans come after the Nikkei notched up its 10th straight gain Thursday, the longest winning streak since a 13-day run in February 1988.

Strong corporate earnings and a string of share buybacks among cash-rich Japanese firms has kept sentiment buoyant recently.

SMBC's Matsuno said Tokyo "could go up a bit more" but warned that "no markets can keep rising forever".

Yahoo Japan soared 8.63 percent to 541 yen on news it is eyeing a partnership with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.

Mobile carrier SoftBank rose 1.68 percent to 7,488 yen, lender Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group was up 0.14 percent to 5,683 yen while Toyota slipped 0.21 percent to 8,619 yen.

In forex trading, the dollar eased to 123.74 yen after hitting 124.46 on Thursday, its highest level since December 2002,

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