Tokyo stocks closed higher Friday on positive U.S. economic data which lifted the outlook for the economy's recovery.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) launching a missile in the morning before markets opened here caused jitters early on, but the impact was limited, market strategists said.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 102.06 points, or 0.52 percent, from Thursday to close the day at 19,909.50.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, added 6.81 points, or 0.42 percent, to finish at 1,638.94.

Securities, mining, and machinery-linked issues comprised those that gained the most by the close of play, and rising issues beat falling ones by 1,363 to 563 on the First Section.

Brokers here said that the missile launch before 7 a.m. local time that flew over Japan and fell into the Pacific Ocean caused some investor consternation, with shares retreating into negative territory early on.

But the market quickly rebounded, they said, and shares advanced for the remainder of the day as Wall Street had set a positive tone and the dollar recovered ground against the yen, which lifted exporter issues.

Traders here also said that attention had been fixed on U.S. economic data and a better-than-expected U.S. consumer price index for August also helped lift the market mood.

U.S. inflation data also had a positive bearing on the Tokyo market and raised the outlook for the recovery of the U.S. economy, market players here said.

On the main section on Friday, 1,986.44 million shares changed hands, rising from Thursday's volume of 1,662.50 million shares.

The turnover on the final trading day of the week came to 2,892.1 billion yen (26.13 billion U.S. dollars).