Japanese Market Notably Higher

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is trading notably higher on Tuesday, extending the gains in the previous session, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 38,500 level, with gains in technology and financial stocks partially offset by weakness in exporters and automakers.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 192.70 points or 0.50 percent at 38,504.03, after touching a high of 38,567.36 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply higher on Monday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 2 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda and Toyota are edging down 0.5 percent each.

In the tech space, Advantest and Screen Holdings are gaining almost 4 percent each, while Tokyo Electron is advancing almost 3 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging down 0.3 percent, while Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are gaining almost 1 percent each.

The major exporters are mostly lower. Panasonic, Canon and Sony are edging down 0.1 to 0.5 percent each, while Mitsubishi Electric is adding almost 2 percent.

Among the other major gainers, Disco is surging almost 7 percent, Shiseido is gaining more than 4 percent, Socionext is adding almost 4 percent and Lasertec is advancing more than 3 percent, while Nissui, Tokyo Electric Power, Ebara and Oriental Land are rising almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Nippon Steel and Hino Motors are losing more than 3 percent each.

In economic news, the Bank of Japan will wrap up its monetary policy meeting on Tuesday and then announce its decision on interest rates. The BoJ is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 0.50 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 144 yen-range on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks gave back some ground over the course of the trading day on Monday but continued to turn in a strong performance after moving sharply higher early in the session. With the upward move, the markets largely offset the steep losses seen during Friday's session.

The major averages all ended the day firmly in positive territory, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq posting a standout gain. The Nasdaq jumped 294.39 points or 1.5 percent to 19,701.21, the S&P 500 advanced 56.14 points or 0.9 percent to 6,033.11 and the Dow climbed 317.30 points or 0.8 percent at 42,515.09.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both advanced by 0.8 percent.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Monday after reports that Iran signaled its readiness to end its hostility with Israel. West Texas Intermediate crude oil for July delivery closed down by $1.21 to settle at $71.77 per barrel.