The Nikkei stock index hit a fresh record high above the 41,000 mark Friday morning, lifted by overnight gains on Wall Street and the boosting of exporter issues by the yen’s weakness against the U.S. dollar. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 28.87 points, or 0.07 percent, from Thursday to 40,844.53. The broader Topix index was up 12.37 points, or 0.44 percent, at 2,808.58. The dollar briefly climbed to the upper 151 yen range in Tokyo following better-than-expected U.S. manufacturing-related data that spurred expectations of a wider interest rate differential between the United States a…