Japan Bourse May Build On Record Close

(RTTNews) - The Japan stock market has moved higher in consecutive trading days, collecting more than 1,070 points or 2 percent to hit a fresh record closing high. The Nikkei 225 now sits just beneath the 53,850-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, with geopolitical concerns likely to limit any upside. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.

The Nikkei finished modestly higher on Friday following mixed performances from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.

For the day, the index added 157.98 points or 0.29 percent to finish at 53,846.87 after trading between 53,603.68 and 54,050.84. Among the actives, Nissan Motor stumbled 2.13 percent, while Mazda Motor retreated 1.46 percent, Toyota Motor climbed 1.12 percent, Honda Motor declined 1.40 percent, Softbank Group skidded 1.18 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial collected 0.64 percent, Mizuho Financial jumped 1.85 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial rallied 2.46 percent, Mitsubishi Electric fell 0.26 percent, Sony Group lost 0.47 percent, Panasonic Holdings slumped 0.39 percent and Hitachi gained 0.66 percent.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened lower on Friday but quickly turned mixed and finished the session that way.

The Dow dropped 285.30 points or 0.58 percent to finish at 49,098.30, while the NASDAQ added 65.22 points or 0.28 percent to close at 23,501.24 and the S&P 500 perked 2.26 points or 0.03 percent to end at 6,915.61.

For the week, the Dow shed 0.5 percent, the S&P fell 0.4 percent and the NASDAQ eased 0.1 percent.

The mixed performance came as traders kept an eye on the latest geopolitical developments, with easing concerns about tensions over Greenland being replaced by renewed worries about a confrontation between the U.S. and Iran.

After President Donald Trump ruled out the use of force to acquire Greenland and backed off tariff threats against Europe, he has now apparently shifted his attention back to Iran and has an "armada" heading toward the Middle East.

Crude oil prices soared on Friday as fresh war threats in the Middle East raised supply disruption concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was up $1.75 or 2.95 percent at $61.11 per barrel.

Closer to home, Japan will release November numbers for its leading and coincident indexes later today. The leading index is expected to rise 0.7 percent on month, slowing from 0.9 percent in October. The coincident is seen lower by 0.7 percent after slipping 1.3 percent in the previous month.