Japanese Market Sharply Higher

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is sharply higher on Wednesday, extending the strong gains in the previous session, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight. The Nikkei 225 moved well above the 33,700 level, with gains across most sectors, led by index heavyweights, after the Bank of Japan left its guidance and ultra-loose monetary policy unchanged.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 561.45 or 1.69 percent at 33,780.84, after touching a high of 33,783.11 earlier. Japanese stocks ended sharply higher on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 1 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding more than 3 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining more than 2 percent and Toyota is advancing almost 2 percent.

In the tech space, Tokyo Electron is losing almost 1 percent, while Screen Holdings is edging up 0.2 percent. Advantest is flat.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial is edging up 0.5 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are gaining almost 1 percent each.

Among the major exporters, Sony and Canon are edging up 0.4 to 0.5 percent each, while Mitsubishi Electric is adding 1.5 percent and Panasonic is gaining almost 3 percent.

Among other major gainers, Toppan Holdings is soaring more than 9 percent and Dai Nippon Printing is advancing almost 5 percent, while Mazda Motor and Hitachi Construction Machinery are gaining more than 4 percent each. Mercari, Sumitomo Pharma and Shiseido are adding almost 4 percent each.

Conversely, Kansai Electric Power is losing almost 4 percent.

In economic news, Japan posted a merchandise trade deficit of 776.9 billion yen in November, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday. That exceeded expectations for a shortfall of 962.4 billion yen following the 661.0 billion yen deficit in October.

Imports were down 11.9 percent on year to 9.596 trillion yen. That missed forecasts for a decline of 8.6 percent following the 12.5 percent drop in the previous month. Exports slipped an annual 0.2 percent to 8.819 trillion yen versus forecasts for an increase of 1.5 percent following the 1.6 percent gain a month earlier.

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

On the Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher early in the session on Tuesday and saw continued strength throughout the trading day. With the upward move, the Dow and the Nasdaq extended their recent winning streaks to nine consecutive sessions.

The major averages saw further upside going into the close, reaching new highs for the session. The Dow advanced 251.90 points or 0.7 percent to a new record closing high of 37,557.92. The Nasdaq climbed 98.03 points or 0.7 percent to 15,003.22 and the S&P 500 rose 27.81 points or 0.6 percent to 4,768.37, reaching their best closing levels in almost two years.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index climbed by 0.6 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.3 percent and the French CAC 40 Index inched up by 0.1 percent.

Crude oil prices rose on Tuesday, extending gains on supply concerns after several companies rerouting their vessels due to the attacks by Houthi militants in the Red Sea. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January rose $0.97 or 1.3 percent at $73.44 a barrel.