Tokyo - Stocks in Japan rose Friday, following gains on Wall Street, as lower-than-expected US unemployment claims raised hopes for a recovery of the US economy.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 110.44 points, or 1.14 per cent to 9,827.88 in early trading. The rise was led by consumer electronics companies Sony Corp and Canon Inc, who derive a significant part of their earnings from overseas.

The world's largest carmaker, Toyota Motor Corp also gained ground after it reported a surprise quarterly profit on Thursday.

The broader-based Topix index of all first-section issues was up 1.39 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 876.35.

On currency markets at 9 am (0000 GMT) the dollar traded at 90.79-82 yen, up from Thursday's 5 pm quote of 90.40-43 yen.

The euro was up to 1.4875-80 dollars, from 1.4825-28 dollars late the previous day, and at 135.07-17 yen up from 134.05-09 yen. (dpa)