Japanese Market Sharply Higher

(RTTNews) - Recouping some of the losses in the previous two sessions, the Japanese stock market is sharply higher on Thursday, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving to near the 38,900 level, with gains across most sectors led by index heavyweights and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 482.16 points or 1.25 percent to 38,972.33, after touching a high of 39,911.93 earlier. Japanese shares ended significantly lower on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 4 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.2 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is gaining almost 2 percent and Honda is adding almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is surging almost 5 percent, Tokyo Electron is gaining more than 4 percent and Screen Holdings is adding almost 2 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Mizuho Financial is adding almost 1 percent.

Among the major exporters, Canon is gaining more than 1 percent and Sony is adding almost 2 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric is edging out 0.5 percent and Panasonic is losing almost 1 percent.

Among other major gainers, Credit Saison is surging almost 6 percent, while Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Dowa Holdings, Fujikura and Disco are gaining more than 4 percent each. Daiichi Sankyo is adding almost 4 percent, while Mitsubishi Logistics, Mitsui Mining & Smelting and Tosoh are advancing more than 3 percent each. Nippon Yusen K.K., Idemitsu Kosan and NEC are up almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Alps Alpine is plunging almost 5 percent, Lasertec is losing almost 1 percent and Mercari is declining almost 3 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 155 yen-range on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day on Wednesday, adding to the modest gains posted in the previous session. With the rally on the day, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reached new record closing highs.

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 saw further upside going into the close, reaching new highs for the session. The Nasdaq surged 330.86 points or 2.0 percent to 17,187.90 and the S&P 500 jumped 62.69 points or 1.2 percent to 5,354.03, while the narrower Dow posted a more modest gain, rising 96.04 points or 0.3 percent to 38,807.33.

The major European markets all also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged up by 0.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both advanced by 0.9 percent.

Crude oil prices bounced higher from four-month lows after OPEC decided not to extend production cuts. West Texas Intermediate for July delivery was up $1.04 or 1.42 percent to $74.29 per barrel.