Japanese Market Sharply Higher

(RTTNews) - The Japanese market is sharply higher on Thursday, reversing the losses in the previous two sessions, following the positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving above the 48,400 level, with gains in index heavyweights and a mixed performance across other sectors. Automaker stocks were weak.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 693.99 points or 1.45 percent to 48,428.98, after touching a high of 48,444.05 earlier. Japanese shares ended notably lower on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is soaring almost 11 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.3 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is losing more than 2 percent and Honda is declining almost 2 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is edging up 0.3 percent and Tokyo Electron is gaining more than 1 percent, while Screen Holdings is losing almost 3 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging up 0.3 percent, while Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are edging down 0.3 to 0.4 percent each.

Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is edging down 0.2 percent, while Panasonic and Sony are gaining more than 1 percent. Canon is flat.

Among other major gainers, Yaskawa Electric is soaring almost 10 percent and Fujikura is surging more than 5 percent, while Ebara, Sumco, Fanuc, SMC and SHIFT are gaining more than 3 percent each. Resonac Holdings, Konica Minolta and Fuji Electric are advancing almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, IHI is losing more than 4 percent and Kawasaki Heavy Industries is declining almost 3 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 152 yen-range on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved back to the upside during trading on Wednesday following the pullback seen in the previous session. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 more than offset yesterday's losses, reaching new record closing highs.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the way higher, jumping 255.02 points or 1.1 percent to 23,043.38, while the S&P 500 climbed 39.13 points or 0.6 percent to 6,753.72. The narrower Dow ended the day little changed, edging down 1.20 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 46,601.78.

The major European markets all also moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.1 percent, the German DAX Index advanced by 0.9 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.7 percent.

Crude oil prices surged on Wednesday, extending gains from the past two sessions after OPEC said it would affect only a modest hike in production next month. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery was up $0.89 or 1.44 percent at $62.62 per barrel.