Japanese Market Significantly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is significantly higher on Monday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 29,000 mark to eight-month highs, following the positive cues from global markets on Friday, with notable gains in heavyweight stocks after the Bank of Japan kept rates at ultra-low levels. The BoJ also announced a broad review of its longstanding monetary easing measures.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 203.19 or 0.70 percent at 29,059.63, after touching a high of 29,143.89 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply higher on Friday.

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

In the tech space, Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron are losing almost 1 percent each, while Advantest is edging up 0.4 percent.

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

The major exporters are mostly higher. Mitsubishi Electric is gaining more than 3 percent, Panasonic is adding more than 2 percent and Canon is up more than 1 percent, while Sony is losing more than 4 percent.

Among the other major gainers, NEC is skyrocketing more than 13 percent, while Odakyu Electric Railway and Keisei Electric Railway are gaining more than 4 percent each. Keyence and TDK are adding more than 3 percent each, while Hitachi, JTEKT, Chubu Electric Power and Fujitsu are up almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, M3 is plunging almost 8 percent, while Nippon Electric Glass, Z Holdings and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha are losing more than 4 percent each. Alps Alpine and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines are declining almost 4 percent each, while Nippon Yusen K.K. is down more than 3 percent. Murata Manufacturing is slipping almost 3 percent.

In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Japan continued to contract in April, albeit at a slower rate, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed on Monday with a manufacturing PMI score of 49.5. That's up from 49.2 in March although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 136 yen-range on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading session on Friday after initially showing a lack of direction. The major averages extended Thursday's rally, with the Nasdaq reaching a seven-month closing high, while the Dow and the S&P 500 reached their best closing levels in over two months.

The major averages saw further upside going into the close, ending the session at their best levels of the day. The Dow climbed 272.00 points or 0.8 percent to 34,098.16, the Nasdaq rose 84.35 points or 0.7 percent to 12,226.58 and the S&P 500 advanced 34.13 points or 0.8 percent to 4,169.48.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index advanced by 0.8 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.5 percent and the French CAC 40 Index edged up by 0.1 percent.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Friday as traders weighed crude supply and near-term energy demand prospects. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended higher by $2.02 or about 2.7 percent at $76.78 a barrel. WTI crude futures shed about 1.4 percent in the week, but gained nearly 1 percent in April.