Japanese Market Significantly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is significantly higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous three sessions, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 33,300 level to fresh 33-year highs, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, with gains across most sectors, led by exporters and financial stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 295.70 or 0.90 percent at 33,314.35, after touching a high of 33,478.21 earlier. Japanese stocks ended sharply higher on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 4 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding more than 2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining almost 3 percent and Toyota is adding 4.5 percent.

In the tech space, Screen Holdings is losing almost 2 percent, Advantest is down more than 1 percent and Tokyo Electron is edging down 0.1 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is gaining almost 2 percent, Mizuho Financial is adding more than 1 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is advancing more than 2 percent.

Among the major exporters, Sony and Mitsubishi Electric are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Canon is edging up 0.5 percent and Panasonic is adding almost 2 percent.

Among other major gainers, IHI is gaining almost 3 percent, while Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Sumitomo Metal Mining, Kobe Steel and Komatsu are adding more than 4 percent each. JFE Holdings and GS Yuasa are advancing almost 4 percent each, while Mitsubishi, Kubota, Mitsui & Co., Hitachi Construction Machinery and NTN are up more than 3 percent each.

Conversely, Daiichi Sankyo is losing more than 3 percent, while Eisai and Sharp are declining almost 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 140 yen-range on Wednesday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday, extending the upward move seen over the course of Monday's session. With the continued advance, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 once again reached their best closing levels in over a year, while the Dow set a four-month closing high.

The major averages finished the day off their highs of the session but still firmly positive. The Nasdaq advanced 111.40 points or 0.8 percent to 13,573.32, the S&P 500 climbed 30.08 points or 0.7 percent to 4,369.01 and the Dow rose 145.79 points or 0.4 percent to 34,212.12.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index advanced by 0.8 percent, the French CAC 40 Index increased by 0.6 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Tuesday after the People's Bank of China announced a surprise rate cut, and the dollar weakened after data showing a slowdown in U.S. inflation raised expectations the Fed will pause rate increases. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended higher by $2.30 or 3.4 percent at $69.42 a barrel.