TOKYO, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei is likely to rise on Friday, extending gains that lifted it to a five-month closing high above 10,000 the day before, with fund inflows from overseas expected to continue and a fall in the yen providing additional support.
Nikkei futures traded in Chicago closed at 10,120, up 1.4 percent from the Osaka close.
The benchmark Nikkei jumped 2.1 percent on Thursday as it picked up momentum in the afternoon after breaking through the psychologically sensitive 200-day moving average of 9,920. The next target likely looms around its June high of 10,251.90.
"The main driving force for recent gains are position adjustments by funds, in which they buy back oversold assets and sell those that had been overbought. Japanese stocks represent an oversold asset," said Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities.
"These moves are mainly due to overseas funds who need to close books in November and December, and buying energy like this will likely continue until mid-December. But that means it's not as if Japanese stocks will keep pushing higher at this speed after that."
The benchmark Nikkei is likely to move between 10,000 and 10,200, market players said. On Thursday, it closed at its session peak of 10,013.63, its highest finish since June 22.
In early Asia trade, the dollar changed hands at 83.48 yen, near a high of 83.79 yen hit earlier, the dollar's strongest level since Oct. 5.
A blockbuster General Motors Co stock offering dovetailed with upbeat U.S. economic data and easing Irish debt tensions to lift global stocks on Thursday. U.S. stocks ended up more than 1 percent.
STOCKS TO WATCH
-- Mazda Motor Corp
Ford Motor Co will cut its stake in Mazda to 3.5 percent from 11 percent, losing its place as the Japanese carmaker's top shareholder, but confirmed they would stay committed to their strategically important ties.
-- Resona Holdings
Resona will go ahead with a share offering of up to 600 billion yen ($7.2 billion) even as investors wary of the likely dilution dump the Japanese bank's stock, its chairman said.
-- Sanyo Electric
Sanyo has contracts to supply lithium ion car batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles to six automakers, a senior company executive told reporters on Thursday. (Reporting by Aiko Hayashi; Editing by Joseph Radford)