Japanese Market Sharply Higher

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is trading sharply higher on Monday, recouping the losses in the previous two sessions. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving above the 32,800 level, following the broadly positive cues from global markets on Friday, with strong gains across most sectors led by index heavyweights and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 539.14 or 1.67 percent at 32,847.00, after touching a high of 32,933.08 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply lower on Friday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining almost 4 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding almost 2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining more than 2 percent and Toyota is edging up 0.5 percent.

In the tech space, Screen Holdings is gaining 2.5 percent, Advantest is adding more than 2 percent and Tokyo Electron is advancing more than 3 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is gaining 1.5 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are adding almost 2 percent each.

The major exporters are mostly higher. Canon is gaining more than 2 percent and Panasonic are adding almost 1 percent, while Sony and Mitsubishi Electric are advancing almost 2 percent each.

Among other major gainers, Tokyo Electric Power is surging almost 9 percent, while Daiichi Sankyo and Mitsui & Co. are gaining more than 4 percent each. Keisei Electric Railway, Sumitomo Electric Industries and Sumitomo Pharma are adding almost 4 percent each, while Nissui, Toppan Holdings and Chubu Electric Power are up more than 3 percent each. Mazda Motor, Itochu and ENEOS are advancing almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, NEXON is losing almost 5 percent.

In economic news, the M2 money stock in Japan was up 2.3 percent on year in November, the Bank of Japan said on Monday - coming in at 1,239.9 trillion yen. That was shy of expectations for an increase of 2.5 percent and down from 2.4 percent in October. The M3 money stock rose an annual 1.7 percent to 1,594.6 trillion yen, easing from 1.8 percent in the previous month. The L money stock was unchanged at 2.1 percent, standing at 2,121.5 trillion yen.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the mid-145 yen-range on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks fluctuated early in the trading day on Friday but moved mostly higher over the course of the session. The major averages added to the gains posted during Thursday's session, reaching their highest closing levels in well over a year.

The major averages reached new highs late in the session but gave back some ground going into the close. The Dow rose 130.49 points or 0.4 percent to 36,247.87, the Nasdaq advanced 63.98 points or 0.5 percent to 14,403.97 and the S&P 500 climbed 18.78 points or 0.4 percent to 4,604.37.

The major European markets all also moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index surged by 1.3 percent, the German DAX Index advanced by 0.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.5 percent.

Crude oil prices spiked sharply on Friday after Saudi Arabia and Russia urged the members of OPEC to join an output cut agreement. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended higher by $1.89 or 2.7 percent at $71.23 a barrel, snapping a six-day losing streak.