Japanese Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is trading modestly higher on Wednesday, adding to the gains in the previous four sessions, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving well above the 38,000 mark, with gains in exporters and technology stocks partially offset by weakness in financial stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 130.71 or 0.34 percent at 38,071.30, after touching a high of 38,102.75 earlier. Japanese stocks ended notably higher on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 1 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is up more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining almost 1 percent and Toyota is adding more than 1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is advancing almost 5 percent, Screen Holdings is gaining almost 2 percent and Tokyo Electron is edging up 0.4 percent.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial is losing almost 2 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is down more than 2 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is declining almost 4 percent.

Among the major exporters, Sony is edging up 0.4 percent, while Panasonic and Mitsubishi Electric are advancing almost 3 percent each. Canon is losing almost 1 percent.

Among other major gainers, Yaskawa Electric is soaring more than 7 percent, Shiseido is surging almost 6 percent and Daikin Industries is gaining more than 5 percent, while Minebea Mitsumi, Sumitomo Metal Mining, Fanuc and Toto are rising more than 4 percent each. M3 and SMC are adding almost 4 percent each, while Panasonic and Subaru are advancing more than 3 percent each, while Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Renesas Electronics and Yamato Holdings are up almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Kyowa Kirin is plummeting more than 14 percent, Resona Holdings is losing more than 4 percent and Tokio Marine is declining more than 3 percent.

In economic news, producer prices in Japan were up 2.7 percent on year in August, the Bank of Japan said on Wednesday - unchanged from the July reading following an upward revision from 2.6 percent. On a monthly basis, producer prices rose 0.1 percent, easing from 0.3 percent in the previous month. Excluding international transportation, producer prices were also up 0.1 percent on month and 2.7 percent on year.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 143 yen-range on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks closed higher on Tuesday after a somewhat choppy ride, and the S&P 500 hit a fresh record high, as investors made largely cautious moves while awaiting more data for directional cues.

The Dow ended with a gain of 83.57 points or 0.2 percent at 42,208.22, the S&P 500 closed up 14.36 points or 0.25 percent at 5,732.93, slightly off the all-time high of 5,735.32, and the Nasdaq climbed 100.25 points or 0.56 percent to 18,074.52.

The major European markets also showed more moves to the upside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.28 percent, Germany's DAX closed higher by 0.8 percent, and France's CAC 40 ended up 1.28 percent.

Crude oil prices rallied on Tuesday as concerns about the outlook for demand eased after the Chinese central bank announced a slew of stimulus measures to boost the nation's economy. An escalation in tensions in the Middle East, and reports of a new storm in Gulf of Mexico also contributed to the rise in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures ended up by $1.19 or about 1.7 percent at $71.56 a barrel.