Sensex sheds 153 points: Realty, power stocks tumble

The Sensex and Nifty fell about 0.8 per cent at the end of the session on Friday owing to heavy selling in realty, power, metal and PSU stocks.

The 30-share BSE index Sensex was down 153.17 points (0.79 per cent) at 19,164.02 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was down 49.95 points (0.87 per cent) at 5,677.90.

Among BSE sectoral indices, realty, power and metal indices were the worst-hit and were down 4.01 per cent, 3.77 per cent and 3.65 per cent respectively, followed by PSU 2.64 per cent and capital goods 1.55 per cent.

On the other hand, consumer durables stocks gained the most and were up 5.38 per cent, followed by IT 0.96 per cent, TECk 0.55 per cent and oil & gas 0.08 per cent.

Among 30-share Sensex, TCS, Infosys, RIL, Wipro and Tata Motors were the top five gainers, while the top five losers wer Jindal Steel, Coal India, Tata Power, Sterlite and Tata Steel.

European stocks were up, extending a nine-week high, as companies from Allianz SE to Axa SA reported earnings that beat estimates and investors awaited US payrolls data.

Stoxx 50 was up 2.89 points or 0.1 per cent at 2,811.53, FTSE 100 was up 1.12 points or 0.02 per cent at 6,683.10 and DAX was up 3.36 points or 0.04 per cent at 8,414.09.

Asian shares rose, paring the regional benchmark index’s first weekly drop since June, after encouraging US manufacturing data and a pledge to easy monetary policy by the European central banks and the Federal Reserve drove the Wall Street to record highs overnight.

In the Asian trade, Nikkei surged 460.39 points or 3.29 per cent to 14,466.20, Hang Seng rose 70.05 points or 0.32 per cent to 22,158.80 and S&P/ASX 200 climbed 55.27 points or 1.09 per cent to 5,116.76.

According to reports, factory output from the US to China and Europe expanded in July, while American jobless claims fell to a five-year low.

The data came as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said that the interest rates will probably remain low for an extended period and after the Federal Reserve retained its $85 billion-a-month bond buying programme.

The Institute for Supply Management’s US factory index increased to 55.4, the strongest since June 2011, from 50.9 in the prior month. Labor Department data to be released today is likely to show that US employers added 185,000 people to payrolls in July.

The Dow Jones index had ended higher by 0.8 per cent and S&P 500 rose 1.3 per cent to end above 1,700 for the first time ever.

Sun TV Network reports marginal rise in Q1 net profit

Sun TV Network has reported results for first quarter ended June 30, 2013.

On standalone basis, the company has reported a marginal rise of 0.08% in its net profit at Rs 164.44 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 as compared to Rs 164.31 crore for the same quarter in the previous year.  The total income of the company has increased by 40.15% at Rs 615.24 crore for quarter under review as compared to Rs 438.98 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2012.

Sun TV is second largest television network in India. It is world's no 1 Tamil channel that features movies, news, serials and shows -- 24 hours a day

Fulford India invests Rs 41 lakh towards business expansion

After raising Rs 40.25 crore by issuing 700,000 equity shares to its promoters Dashtag, Fulford India has utilized Rs. 41 lakh towards business expansion in the quarter ended June 30, 2013. The total amount utilized till June 30, 2013 is Rs. 2.41 crore. The remaining unutilised balance of Rs 37.84 crore will be invested in fixed deposits with banks .

The company has raised the said funds to the tune of Rs 40.25 crore to provide capital in order to permit the company to strengthen its position in the market and act on strategic business growth opportunities.

Fulford (India) is engaged in the business of manufacturing and marketing pharmaceutical consumer products, including cough tablets and herbal ointments, marketed under the trademarks - PEPS and ZAMBUK respectively. It offers medicines for the treatment of allergy and respiratory, arthritis and immunology, cancer therapies, cardiovascular, hepatitis, sun care, etc.

Call rates edge higher with the end of first week of reporting cycle

Interbank call rates shot higher at 9.20/30% against its previous close of 7.50/7.60% on Thursday, but stayed within central bank's emergency funding rate or Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) Rate of 10.25%, with the end of the first week of reporting fortnight. The call rates are expected to further cool down in coming week as demand usually tappers off approaching the second week of reporting cycle.

The banks via Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) borrowed Rs 37264 crore through repo window on August 02, 2013, while banks, borrowed Rs 37716 crore through repo window and parked Rs 403 crore via reverse repo window on August 01, 2013.

The overnight borrowing rates touched a high and low of 10.00% and 9.00% respectively.

According to the Clearing Corporation of India (CCIL), the weighted average rate (WAR) in the call money market was 9.54% on Friday and total volume stood at 14438.24 crore, so far.

As per CCIL data, WAR in the CBLO (Collateralized Borrowing and Lending Obligation) market was 9.28% on Friday and total volume stood at Rs 69267.95 crore, so far.

The indicative call rates which closed at 7.50/60% on Thursday were contributions made from Andhra Bank, AXIS Bank, Bank of America, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Canara Bank, J P Morgan Chase, Citibank N.A., Corporation Bank, Credit Agricole Bank, Indusind Bank, ICICI Bank, ICICI Securities, IDBI Bank, Jammu and Kashmir Bank, Punjab National Bank, RBS, Societe Generale, Standard Chartered, so far

Exide Inds gains on the plans of selling 26% stake in life insurance business

Exide Industries is currently trading at Rs 121.45, up by 0.20 points or 0.16% from its previous closing of Rs 121.25 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs 121.55 and has touched a high and low of Rs 124.25 and Rs 120.60 respectively. So far 64846 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Re 1 has touched a 52 week high of Rs 166.30 on 19-Oct-2012 and a 52 week low of Rs. 115.35 on 08-Apr-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs 133.75 and Rs 120.00 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs 10293.50 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 45.99% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 31.81% and 22.20% respectively.

Exide Industries is reportedly planning to sell 26% stake in life insurance business. The company for this, is in talks with Canada's Manulife Financial Corp and Samsung Life Insurance Company. The company has been looking for an equity partner in its life insurance business after Dutch banking and insurance group ING sold its 26% stake in the joint venture to the Indian partner in January.

Exide Industries manufactures the widest range of storage batteries in the world from 2.5 Ah to 20,400 Ah capacities, covering the broadest spectrum of applications. EIL is India’s largest producer of automotive and industrial batteries, with seven manufacturing plants strategically located across the country.

Sensex set for 8th straight fall on RBI dilemma

Markets edged lower with 30-share Sensex set to close lower for eighth straight session this Friday on back of selling pressure witnessed in rate-sensitive shares as investors remained uncertain as to when the central bank will rollback its short-term rate hike aimed to curb rupee’s fall.

At 2:10PM, 30-share Sensex dropped 115 points to trade at 19,201 while Nifty declined 41 points at 5,681.

Bank shares fell after the Reserve Bank of India Governor said on Friday the central bank would roll back recent cash tightening measures only after it determines stability has been restored in the foreign exchange market.

Global risk appetite improved after US factory output surged rose to its highest level since June 2011, easing concerns a slowdown in emerging economies may take a toll on US growth..

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei rose 3.2% to 14,466, China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.02% to 2,029, Singapore’s Straits Times added 0.4% to 3,256 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.4% to 22,190.

European stocks traded mixed. France’s CAC declined 0.1% to 6,671, Germany’s DAX rose 0.04% to 8,414 while UK’s FTSE shed 0.1% to 6.671 today.

Investors awaited the official US payrolls report due at 8:30 a.m. in Washington. Employers added a net 185,000 workers in July, after hiring 195,000 in the previous month, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.

Domestically, among the sectoral indices, banks, realty, auto and metal indices dropped while consumer durable and IT indices gained on the BSE.

The key gainers included counters such as Wipro and TCS rising between 1.5-2%, Infosys gained 1%,Reliance Industries gained 1.3%, BHEL gained 0.8% on the BSE.

The laggards were Jindal Steel slumping nearly 9%, Coal India dropped 5.6%, Sterlite Industries shed 5% on the BSE.

The key notable movers included counters such as Adani Enterprises that fell by 11.5% on reports that one of its group companies Adani Agro has an exposure of Rs 325 crore in castor seeds contracts on the National Spot Exchange Ltd.

Titan Industries has moved higher by nearly 8% to Rs 279, after reporting a strong 42% year-on-year (yoy) jump in net sales at Rs 3,088 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 (Q1), largely driven by jewellery on account of drop in gold prices. The company had sales income of Rs 2,175 crore in a year ago quarter.

Broader markets traded weak with mid-caps and small-caps falling nearly 1 per cent on the BSE.

The market breadth was negative. Out of 2, 185 stocks traded so far, 1,400 shares declined while 650 advanced on the BSE.

One in five stocks traded on BSE hit 4-year low

One out of five stocks from the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) is trading at their 4-year lows after the bear onslaught continued for the seventh consecutive trading session till Thursday.

In past two days, as many as 126 stocks from BSE A and B group have touched their lowest level since July 2009. Of these 33 stocks hit lifetime lows on BSE after getting hammered by the traders.

Coal India, Tata Steel, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Hindalco Industries, NTPC and Sterlite Industries from the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex are currently trading at their lowest level since July 2009.

Stocks that have large debt on books, were singled out by the bears for selling on concerns of rising interest rates may dampened their net profit growth further.

DLF, HDIL, Hindustan Construction Company, IRB Infrastructure Development, IVRCL, Jaypee Infratech, Lanco Infratech and Suzlon Energy are among few quoting at 4-year low.

Around 15 public sector undertaking banks in the list after the central bank adopted aggressive measures to curtail the rupee’s slide such as tinkering with the daily borrowing limits by banks, reducing the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF), raising the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate, etc.

Meanwhile, the downside in the broader markets -midcap and smallcap stocks -- was much more severe than the benchmark indices, with both the indices have touched their respective 52-week low on BSE.

Kotak Mahindra Bank to open 100 branches in FY14

The bank has 67 branches across Gujarat and is planning to improve its customer base in the western state

Kotak Mahindra Bank is planning to open 100 branches across the country in the current financial year.

Kotak Mahindra Bank Executive Vice-president Virat Diwanji said that with opening of 100 more branches the bank will cross 550 mark before March, 31 2014.

He was speaking to media after launching Kotak junior savings bank account for children in Vadodara.


The bank has 67 branches across Gujarat and is planning to improve its customer base in the western state by at least 20% every year over next few years, he added. 

Gati surges as its arm Builds 110 megawatt Hydro-electric Power project in Sikkim

GATI is currently trading at Rs. 23.45, up by 0.50 points or 2.18% from its previous closing of Rs. 22.95 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 23.70 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 24.00 and Rs. 23.00 respectively. So far 17963 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 45.90 on 09-Oct-2012 and a 52 week low of Rs. 22.70 on 01-Aug-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 25.00 and Rs. 22.70 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 202.60 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 43.86% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 1.64% and 54.50% respectively.

Gati Infrastructure - an energy initiative of Gati, India's pioneer and leader in Express Distribution and Supply Chain Solution is helping to alleviate India's enormous electricity shortage with its first and largest hydro-power project in the private sector, in the north east part of India.

GE Energy Financial Services India has invested Rs 257 crore in the hydro-power project through a share subscription agreement. The 110 megawatt Chuzachen hydro-electric project in East Sikkim harnesses the water flow from the rivers Rangpo and Rongli, in a run-of-river design, with turbines and generators supplied by Alstom India. The project built at a cost of Rs 1188 crore is the first one of this magnitude, under Private Ownership, in the north east of India. IDFC is the lead financier, with a loan at the project level. Capital Fortunes - Hyderabad are the advisors and sole arrangers in respect of this transaction. Commissioned in May of this year the project is operating at steady state.

Gati is a leading player in express distribution and logistics and operates through two divisions - Express Distribution & Supply Chain (EDSC) and Coast- to-Coast (C2C) division. It also operates two container yards at Chennai and Port Blair which increases capability and provides for efficient handling of the cargo.

Strides Arcolab surges on receiving ANDA approval for Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate and Emtricitabine tablets

Strides Arcolab is currently trading at Rs. 692.00, up by 69.55 points or 11.17% from its previous closing of Rs. 622.45 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 627.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 705.00 and Rs. 627.00 respectively. So far 53,000 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 1224.90 on 05-Dec-2012 and a 52 week low of Rs. 552.65 on 01-Aug-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 744.00 and Rs. 552.65 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 4,090 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 27.39% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 59.81% and 12.80% respectively. Strides Arcolab has received tentative approval from the US FDA for its anti aids combination drug Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate and Emtricitabine Tablets, 300mg and 200mg. The company is one among the 6 generics company to have received USFDA approval. This abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) has been reviewed under the expedited provisions of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS relief (PEPFAR). The company supplies ARV products to global procurement agencies and this approval adds to the overall basket of medicines available.

Strides Arcolab is a global pharmaceutical company headquartered in Bangalore, India that develops and manufactures wide range of IP-lead niche pharmaceutical products with an emphasis on sterile injectables.

ITC strengthens on plan to set up windmills in Andhra Pradesh

ITC is currently trading at Rs. 340.30, up by 1.85 points or 0.55% from its previous closing of Rs. 338.45 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 341.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 343.90 and Rs. 339.40 respectively. So far 86569 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 1 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 380.00 on 24-Jul-2013 and a 52 week low of Rs. 251.10 on 17-Sep-2012.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 372.50 and Rs. 336.00 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 270705.36 crore.

The institutions and non-institutions held 53.43% and 46.27% stake in the company, respectively.

ITC, the diversified conglomerate is planning to set up windmills in Andhra Pradesh. It is likely to spend nearly Rs 300 crore for the same. With this initiative, the company aims to add 48 MW wind power generation capacity by early next fiscal. At present it has a 70 MW wind farm capacity, mostly in Tamil Nadu.

The company’s info-tech park in Bangalore is completely powered by renewable energy. Five of ITC’s hotels - Windsor and Gardenia in Bangalore, Grand Chola in Chennai, Maratha in Mumbai and Rajputana in Jaipur -are also powered by renewable energy.

Stocks announcing results today....

Scrip Code Scrip Name   Date

524348 Aarti Drugs          02-Aug-13
533229 Bajaj Corp          02-Aug-13
532525 Bank of Maharashtra     02-Aug-13
509480 Berger Paints   02-Aug-13
532330 Biopac India-$   02-Aug-13
523329 Eldeco Hous           02-Aug-13
532622 Gateway Distr   02-Aug-13
500185 Hindustan Const           02-Aug-13
532835 ICRA                   02-Aug-13
530979 India Home Loan           02-Aug-13
533155 JUBL FOOD           02-Aug-13
535648 Just Dial                   02-Aug-13
532714 KEC Intl                   02-Aug-13
500268 Manali Petro           02-Aug-13
532810 Power Finance   02-Aug-13
532693 Punj Lloyd           02-Aug-13
524552 Shasun Pharma   02-Aug-13
500550 Siemens                   02-Aug-13
532733 Sun TV Network           02-Aug-13
532667 Suzlon Energy   02-Aug-13
532890 Take Solutions   02-Aug-13
533982 Tera Software   02-Aug-13
504973 Tube Invest           02-Aug-13
532515 TV Today           02-Aug-13

Rupee weaker, bond yields rise on strong U.S. data

The rupee was weaker in early trades on Friday as strong U.S. data raised the prospects of the Federal Reserve beginning to taper its monetary stimulus this year.

The rupee was at 60.64/67 in early trades as against Thursday's close Of 60.43/44.

Bond yields rose 7 basis points to 8.14 percent as U.S. Treasury prices fell to a near two-year low. (Reporting by Subhadip Sircar; Editing by Sunil Nair)

Markets turn flat after firm opening, FinTech dn 40%

Markets have erased gains on account of profit booking after making a higher opening tracking firm global cues

Markets have erased gains on account of profit booking after making a higher opening tracking firm global cues. Moreover, Indian government has further relaxed foreign direct investment norms in the retail sector to attract overseas investments.

By 9:30, the Sensex was higher by 26 points at 19,344 points whereas the Nifty slipped by 2 points at 5,726 mark.

Japan's Nikkei share average rose to a one-week high on Friday morning, spurred by Wall Street's record-close overnight on strong US economic data and the commitment by major central banks to keep monetary stimulus in place. A stronger dollar versus the yen also buoyed sentiment, lifting exporters like auto makers and electronics manufactures.

The Nikkei jumped 1.9% to 14,266.31, after rising as high as 14,284.00, the highest level since July 26 and surpassed its 25-day moving average of 14,277.48.

The Dow and S&P 500 hit record closing highs on Thursday, with the S&P 500 topping 1,700 after strong data on factory growth and as major central banks said they would keep monetary stimulus in place.

Stocks were broadly higher, with all 10 S&P 500 sectors in the black. Growth-sensitive financials, industrials and consumer discretionary shares registered the biggest gains. The Dow transportation average rose 3.2%, also at a new closing high.

Meanwhile, the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell unexpectedly last week, touching a 5½ year low, suggesting a steadily improving labour market.

Back home, the government on Thursday approved the much-awaited relaxation of the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy on multi-brand retail trading (MBRT), by easing the three main contentious riders on such money.

These three, added as conditions to last year’s decision to open FDI in this segment, were on a mandatory 30% sourcing from small domestic industries, 50% of the investment to be in back-end infrastructure and outlets to be opened only in cities with population of more than a million.

On the sectoral front, BSE Consumer Durables index has surged by over 2% followed by counters like IT, FMCG and TECk, all gaining by nearly 1% each. However, BSE PSU index has declined by nearly 2% followed by counters like Realty, Power, Banks and Metal, all fal;ling by 1% each.

The main gainers on the Sensex are NTPC, ITC, TCS, RIL and Hero Moto whereas few losers are Coal India, DRL, GAIL, M&M and ICICI Bank.

M&M has decided to extend production holidays in the coming months too as retail demand hits new lows every day.

Hero MotoCorp reported marginal rise in total sales at 4,87,545 units for July this year.

Among other shares, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has opened lower by 3% at Rs 191 on BSE after the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) cleared the proposal for sale of 10% government stake in the state-owned oil marketing company.

Financial Tech has extended the losses and has dropped by over 30%. National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL), a group firm, suspended trading in all contracts except ‘e-series’ until further notice, shares of Financial Technologies (FT) and Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX) on Thursday tanked on BSE.

The market breadth in BSE remains negative with 454 shares declining and 344 shares advancing.

Income Tax Department issues Rs 623 crore tax refund to MTNL

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL), the state owned telecom firm which operates in Delhi and Mumbai, has been issued a refund order by the Income Tax Department in the case of MTNL Subscriber Deposit for the Assessment Year 2006-07. The total amount of refund receivable from the department amounts to Rs 623.18 crore, which includes interest on refund amounting to Rs 103.62 crore.

From the said refund an amount of Rs 255.06 crore has been adjusted against the tax demand for the other Assessment Years and a net cheque amounting to Rs 368.12 crore has been received by the company on August 01, 2013.

MTNL was set up by the Government of India to upgrade the quality of telecom services, expand the telecom network, and introduce new services and to raise revenue for telecom development needs of India's key metros - Delhi and Mumbai.

Kolte-Patil Developers forays into Mumbai

Kolte-Patil Developers Ltd has informed BSE regarding a Press Release titled "Kolte-Patil Developers Ltd. (KPDL) forays into Mumbai" Kolte-Patil Developers announced plans to foray into the burgeoning real estate market in Mumbai with a redevelopment project in a prime location at Khar (West) on Linking Road. The project Link Palace Premises Co-operative Society Limited at Khar (West) is on a plot of 1594 sq. mts with a total developable area is about 0.1 mn. sq. ft.

Indian Oil Corp down 3.5% on govt's decision to sell stake

Indian Oil Corporation  ( IOC ) declined around 3.5 percent to Rs 189 on government’s decision to divest 10 percent stake in the firm. The news may not have gone well with investors, as volatile rupee and burgeoning under-recoveries may pose difficulties in valuation.

However, according to CNBC-TV18, the government is likely to delay divestment of stake in Indian Oil Corp  until rupee volatility eases. IOC divestment was likely to take place in August to meet Securities and Exchanges Board of India (Sebi)'s minimum public float norm for public sector units.

Also, there are question marks over the subsidy sharing mechanism for this year and how much subsidy the government is actually going to give to the oil marketing companies (OMCs). So, once clarity is achieved on those lines the government may go ahead with Indian Oil divestment

Tulip Telecom touches the roof on inking MRA to implement CDR package

Tulip Telecom is locked at upper circuit limit at Rs. 7.85, up by 0.37 points or 4.95% from its previous closing of Rs. 7.48 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 7.83 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 7.85 and Rs. 7.60 respectively. So far 26,000 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'T' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 109.00 on 08-Aug-2012 and a 52 week low of Rs. 6.66 on 28-Jun-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 8.79 and Rs. 7.04 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 113.00 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 26.34% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 18.99% and 54.67% respectively.

Tulip Telecom, the country’s leading Enterprise Data Services provider, has implemented its Corporate Debt Restructuring (CDR) package with signing of the Master Restructuring Agreement (MRA). The company had earlier filed for restructuring of its debt in December 2012, under India’s CDR mechanism and had subsequently got final approval from the CDR.

The package covers 12 year door-to-door repayment plan; reduction in interest rates by approximately two and half percent; one and half year moratorium on interest and two and half year moratorium on principal. The promoters infusion of approximately Rs 60 crore under CDR requirement is been completed.

Tulip Telecom is India’s leading Enterprise Data Services provider. The company’s data network has the largest reach of over 2,000 locations globally. The company designs, implements and manages communications networks of large enterprises on long term contracts to include enterprise communications connectivity, network integration, managed services and data centers.

Nikkei hits one-week high on Wall St, dovish central banks

Japan's Nikkei share average rose to a one-week high on Friday morning, spurred by Wall Street's record-close overnight on strong US economic data and the commitment by major central banks to keep monetary stimulus in place.

A stronger dollar versus the yen also buoyed sentiment, lifting exporters like auto makers and electronics manufactures.

The Nikkei jumped 1.9% to 14,266.31, after rising as high as 14,284.00, the highest level since July 26 and surpassed its 25-day moving average of 14,277.48.

"There are two major factors. Signs of a recovery in the US economy and a weak yen driven by the strong dollar," said Hikaru Sato, senior technical analyst at Daiwa Securities.

The Dow and S&P 500 hit record closing highs on Thursday, with the S&P 500 topping 1,700.

Sato said that investors were also encouraged by a handful of positive earnings from the likes of Sony Corp and Sharp Corp, whose shares jumped 4% and 5%, respectively, after they posted strong profits for the first quarter ended June.

"Some investors are still cautious over companies' decisions to keep their full-year profit outlooks, but it also means that there is room for those companies to raise them later in the year, so earnings results overall are taken positively," Sato said.

The Topix rose 1.5% to 1,181.25.

The dollar rose 1.7% to 99.54 yen on Thursday after robust US jobless claims and manufacturing data. A weak yen lifts Japanese exporters' competitiveness abroad as well as profits when repatriated.

The focus in world markets now turns to the key US non-farm payrolls report due later in the global day.

A strong jobs report would increase the likelihood the Federal Reserve could begin tapering its stimulus in September, which could hurt the gains in equities and commodities, but it would support the dollar.

The European Central Bank and the Bank of England both ended policy meetings by leaving interest rates at record lows, a day after the Fed said the US economy still needed its support and avoided any mention of a change to its stimulus measures.

As of July 31, sales in the first quarter at the 156 ex-financial companies out of the 332 companies in the Russell/Nomura Large Cap Index were up 7.8% on year, while recurring profits were up 35.7%, Nomura Securities said.

The sectors that contributed most to the increase in the profit growth rate compared with the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year ended March included software, telecommunications, and housing and real estate, Nomura said.

On Friday, investors were also looking out for corporate earnings from blue chip companies such as Toyota Motor Corp after the market closes.