Japanese stocks jump to a two-year high supported by Wall Street's record gains and the yen's decline

Japanese stocks jumped at the end of Friday's trading in the latest session of the week to a two-year high amid rising sentiment as US stock indexes on Wall Street continued to record new highs, as the yen weakened and export stocks rose.
The Nikkei average closed up 62.15 points, or 0.30 percent, to close at 20,690.71, the highest close since August 2015. The broader TOPIX index was up 4.67 points, or 0.28 percent, at 1,687.16.

Over the course of the week, the Nikkei gained 1.6%, and the Topix rose 0.8%, its fourth weekly gain in a row.
S & P 500 futures rose by less than 0.1%. The index ended yesterday's session on Wall Street, up 0.6%, its sixth daily gain in a row, hitting a new record high of 2,552.51 points.

The strong gains of US stocks led by the banking and financial sector were helped by a 10-year rise in US bond yields as interest rates rose in December.

As well as strong hopes for progress in tax reform in the country, especially after the Republican-controlled House of Representatives approves the fiscal spending plan for 2018.

The yen fell 0.2% against the US dollar, extending losses for the second day in a row, prompting major export stocks to rise again, especially for automakers.