Tokyo shares end slightly higher

Tokyo: Tokyo shares ended slightly higher on Friday on upbeat Japanese household spending data, but sentiment was held ahead of US jobs data due later in the day.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average inched up 2.71 points (0.02 percent) from Thursday at 17,725.13, Xinhua news agency reported.

The broader Topix index of all first section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 2.18 points (0.15 percent) to 1,444.92.

Gainers were led by rubber products, pulp and paper, and transport equipment.

The turnover was about 2,071.2 billion yen (about USD 17.26 billion).