TOKYO, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed higher Friday as the yen's retreat against the U.S. dollar helped lift exporter issues, although gains were capped as investors hit the sidelines ahead of a speech by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell later in the day.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average added 82.90 points, or 0.40 percent, from Thursday to close the day at 20,710.91.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, gained 4.19 points, or 0.28 percent, to finish at 1,502.25.
Stocks were flat in early moves as the market mood was cautious ahead of Powell's speech later in the day, brokers here said.
They added that investors were keenly awaiting clues about further possible rate cuts by the Fed, with focus heightened following recent manufacturing data in the U.S. coming in below par and dropping below a key threshold for the first time since September 2009.
"Such weak data made investors even more attentive to Powell's speech for any indication of measures to bolster growth," Maki Sawada, vice president of the investment research and investor services department at Nomura Securities Co., was quoted as saying.
The yen's retreat against the U.S. dollar encouraged buying in later trade, although some investors opted for the sidelines, with some players seeking out bargains and buying on dips after the Nikkei's losses in August.
The U.S. dollar hovered in the mid-106 yen zone on Friday and was quoted at 106.64-65 yen at 5 p.m. compared with 106.39-49 yen in New York and 106.44-45 yen at 5 p.m. on Thursday in Tokyo.
During the day, it tracked between 106.43 yen and 106.67 yen, trading most often at the 106.55 yen mark.
Exporters got a boost from the yen's comparative weakness, and steel producers also found favor after losing ground recently.
By the close of play, pulp and paper, steel and iron, and marine transportation issues comprised those that gained the most, and issues that rose beat those that fell by 1,104 to 933 on the First Section, while 113 ended the day unchanged.
On the main section on Friday, 907.1 million shares changed hands, dropping from Thursday's volume of 974.35 million shares.
The turnover on the final trading day of the week came to 1,562.7 billion yen (14.65 billion U.S. dollars).
