Tokyo investors eye corporate earnings next week

Tokyo investors will be looking to company earnings next week as Japan kicks off its latest reporting season, with mid-week trade data also in focus.

A weak yen has lifted hopes for another bumper earnings round as automakers Mazda and Mitsubishi get set to report, while giants including Honda, Sony, and Japan Airlines release their fiscal-year results the following week.

"As a corporate results season begins, investors are going to be hunting for undervalued shares," said Nomura Securities strategist Shoichiro Yamauchi.

Markets will also be eyeing March trade data on Wednesday following a string of weak figures that have raised doubts about the strength of the world's number three economy.

On Friday, the Nikkei 225 at the Tokyo Stock Exchange dropped 1.17 percent, or 232.89 points, to close at 19,652.88. Over the week, the benchmark index lost 1.28 percent, coming off a 15-year high that saw the Nikkei briefly cross the 20,000 last Friday.

The broader Topix index of all first-section shares was down 0.67 percent, or 10.73 points, at 1,588.69. It edged down 0.05 percent in the past week.

Tokyo's slide on Friday followed a limp session on Wall Street with the dollar taking a hit as new figures disappointed, narrowing the likelihood of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike in early summer.

Data Thursday showed US housing starts rose less than expected in March, while initial jobless claims, a sign of the pace of layoffs, increased well above estimates to their highest level in six weeks.

News Wednesday that the Chinese economy grew at its slowest quarterly pace in six years has rekindled concerns about future growth -- China is a major market for Japanese goods -- while investors nervously watch the slow progress in Greece's bailout talks.

Sharp shares tumbled 5.77 percent to 261.0 yen Friday after the leading Nikkei business daily reported that the electronics firm had reached a deal with its banks for a 200 billion yen investment to prop up its ailing balance sheet.

Sony fell 3.69 percent to 3,555.5 yen as WikiLeaks published thousands of documents  from last year's hacking scandal at the company's US-based film studio.

McDonald's Holdings Japan fell 0.52 percent to 2,636.0 after it announced a bigger-than-expected loss forecast, store closures and senior executive pay cuts, as it looks to turn the page on a series of scares including the discovery of a human tooth in some fries.

In forex markets the dollar slipped to 118.93 yen from 119.04 yen in New York and 119.33 yen in Tokyo earlier Thursday.