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Tokyo stocks close higher as banks lead the charge

Tokyo stocks ended higher Friday with banks leading the charge while exporters were boosted by a slide in the yen.

It was the Japanese market's third straight rise, as the Dow on Thursday extended gains after breaking 20,000 for the first time on Wednesday.

Wall Street's rebound has seeped through to other global markets, reviving a two-month rally that followed Donald Trump's election in November.

Despite his bent toward trade protectionism, investors are betting the new US president will embark on a pro-growth drive of tax cuts, big spending and deregulation.

"Donald Trump is getting down to business and the stock market seems to like that," Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at AxiTrader, said in a commentary.

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"For now we are getting an extension of the Trumponomics rally in stocks. Traders and investors seem to have a renewed focus on the reality that for all his belligerence President Trump does seem likely to institute his key tax and economic plans."

Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index ended the day 0.34 percent, or 65.01 points, higher at 19,467.40. It gained 1.72 percent over the week.

The Topix index of all first-section issues rose 0.27 percent, or 4.24 points, to end at 1,549.25. It tacked on 1.03 percent this week.

Next week, Japan's latest earnings season kicks into high gear, with Sony, Panasonic and Nintendo among the firms reporting.

The Bank of Japan's first meeting of 2017 and a slate of Japanese economic data, including factory output and household spending, will also be in focus.

Before the market opened Friday, official data showed Japan's core consumer prices, which exclude fresh food, dropped 0.3 percent in 2016, the first annual fall in four years.

The data underscored how Japan's long-running battle to conquer deflation is far from won.

Tokyo's share gains were reinforced by a pick-up in the dollar against the yen, which is a positive for Japan's exporters as it makes their products more competitive abroad and inflates repatriated profits.

The dollar climbed to 115.12 yen Friday from 114.56 yen in New York and well up from the 113.66 yen seen earlier Thursday in Tokyo.

Banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ's stock jumped 1.46 percent to 752.9 yen and rival Mizuho Financial Group climbed 1.73 percent to end the day at 216.6 yen.

Toshiba rose 0.54 percent to 259.9 yen, after the loss-hit firm said it was spinning off its chip business into a separate company as it reportedly looks to sell part of the division to raise funds.

Uniqlo parent Fast Retailing, a market heavyweight, rose 1.20 percent to 36,960 yen and tyre maker Bridgestone jumped 2.85 percent to 4,208 yen.

Energy explorer Inpex jumped 3.67 percent to 1,127 yen on higher oil prices.

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