Japanese Market Sharply Higher

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is trading sharply higher on Wednesday, snapping a four-session losing streak, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving well above the 52,850 level, with gains across all sectors led by exporters, financial and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 1,826.13 or 3.58 percent at 52,889.85, after touching a high of 52,940.23 earlier. Japanese stocks ended sharply lower Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is surging more than 7 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining more than 2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is adding more than 1 percent, while Toyota is gaining more than 3 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is jumping almost 7 percent, Screen Holdings is surging more than 5 percent and Tokyo Electron is advancing almost 4 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are jumping almost 6 percent each, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is surging almost 5 percent.

Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is advancing more than 4 percent, Canon is gaining almost 1 percent, Panasonic is surging more than 5 percent and Sony is adding more than 3 percent.

Among other major gainers, Fujikura is soaring almost 9 percent and Socionext is jumping more than 7 percent, while Sumitomo Metal Mining, Furukawa Electric, Japan Steel Works, Fukuoka Financial, Recruit Holdings, Renesas Electronics and Sumitomo Electric Industries are surging almost 7 percent each. Ibiden, Mitsui Kinzoku, Fuji Electric and Shizuoka Financial are advancing more than 6 percent each.

Conversely, KDDI is declining more than 5 percent, NEXON is losing more than 4 percent and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines is down almost 4 percent.

In economic news, large manufacturing in Japan accelerated slightly in the first quarter of 2026, the Bank of Japan's quarterly Tankan Survey of business sentiment showed on Wednesday with a diffusion index score of +17. That beat forecasts for +16 and was up from +15 in the previous three months. The outlook came in at +14, beating forecasts for +13 but down from +15 in the previous quarter.

The large non-manufacturers index came in at +36, beating forecasts for +33 and up from +34 in Q2. The outlook was +29, beating expectations for +28 - which would have been unchanged. The small manufacturing index rose to +7 from +6, while the outlook rose to +4 from +2. The small non-manufacturing index ticked up to +16 from +15, while the outlook eased to +8.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 158 yen-range on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks saw further upside over the course of the trading day on Tuesday after moving sharply higher early in the session. The major averages all showed strong upward moves, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the way higher.

The major averages ended the day not far off their highs of the session. The Nasdaq soared 795.99 points or 3.8 percent to 21,590.62, the S&P 500 spiked 184.80 points or 2.9 percent to 6,528.52 and the Dow surged 1,125.37 points or 2.5 percent to 46,341.51. The major European markets all also moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.6 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both rose by 0.5 percent.

Crude oil prices plummeted Tuesday on reports that Trump was willing to push Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz through diplomatic efforts. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was down $1.28 or 1.24 percent at $101.60 per barrel.