Japanese Market Notably Higher

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is notably higher on Wednesday, adding to the strong gains in the previous session, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight. The Nikkei 225 moved above the 31,900 level, with gains across most sectors, led by index heavyweights and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 163.39 or 0.51 percent at 31,909.92, after touching a high of 31,949.49 earlier. Japanese stocks ended sharply higher on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining almost 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is up almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining more than 1 percent and Toyota is also up more than 1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 3 percent and Tokyo Electron is adding more than 2 percent, while Screen Holdings is edging down 0.2 percent.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are edging down 0.3 to 0.5 percent each, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is down more than 1 percent.

Among the major exporters, Panasonic and Canon are edging up 0.1 to 0.5 percent each, while Sony is gaining almost 1 percent. Mitsubishi Electric is declining almost 1 percent.

Among other major gainers, Lasertec is gaining more than 5 percent and Tokyo Electric Power is adding more than 3 percent. Conversely, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha is losing more than 5 percent, NTT Data is declining more than 3 percent and CyberAgent is up almost 3 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 148 yen-range on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks climbed higher and held firm right through the day's session on Tuesday, after opening on a slightly subdued note, to eventually close with solid gains. The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury Note dropped to around 4.65 percent as investors chose to pick up some safe-haven assets amid geopolitical concerns.

The major averages all ended on a firm note. The Dow settled with a gain of 134.65 points or 0.4 percent at 33,739.30. The S&P 500 climbed 22.58 points or 0.52 percent to 4,358.24, and the Nasdaq advanced 78.60 points or 0.58 percent to 13,562.84.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 surged 1.82 percent, Germany's DAX gained 1.95 percent and France's CAC 40 advanced 2.01 percent.

Crude oil prices fell on Tuesday as traders assessed the likely impact of potential supply disruptions due to the ongoing war in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November shed $0.41 or 0.5 percent at $85.97 a barrel.