Japanese Market Significantly Higher

(RTTNews) - Strength in the technology and financial sector is pushing the Japanese stock market significantly higher on Friday, despite the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight. The benchmark Nikkei 225 is moving well above the 30,800 level, recouping the losses in the previous session.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is gaining 275.60 points or 0.90 percent to 30,877.38, after touching a high of 30,915.87 earlier. Japanese stocks closed sharply lower on Thursday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining almost 1 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.3 percent. Among automakers, Honda is flat and Toyota is gaining more than 1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest and Screen Holdings are gaining almost 2 percent each, while Tokyo Electron is advancing almost 1 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are gaining more than 2 percent each.

Among major exporters, Canon is losing almost 4 percent and Sony is edging down 0.1 percent, while Panasonic is gaining almost 1 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is adding more than 1 percent.

Among other major gainers, Fujitsu is soaring more than 12 percent and Mitsui Chemicals is gaining almost 4 percent, while Yamato Holdings, Sumco, NEC and Fujikura are adding more than 3 percent each. Chiba Bank, Omron, Recruit Holdings, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, NTT Data Group, Nitto Denko and Nippon Yusen K.K. are all up almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Takeda Pharmaceutical is plunging more than 7 percent and Tokuyama is slipping almost 7 percent, while Tokyo Gas and Hitachi Construction Machinery are losing almost 3 percent each.

In economic news, overall inflation in the Tokyo region of Japan was up 3.3 percent on year in October, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday. That exceeded expectations for an increase of 3.1 percent and was up from 2.8 percent in September. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food prices, added an annual 2.7 percent - again exceeding forecasts for an increase of 2.5 percent, which would have been unchanged.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 150 yen-range on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved notably lower over the course of the trading day on Thursday, extending the sharp pullback seen during Wednesday's session. With the continued weakness, the major averages fell to their lowest closing levels in five months.

The major averages staged a recovery attempt in the latter part of the session but moved back to the downside going into the close. The Nasdaq tumbled 225.62 points or 1.8 percent to 12,595.61, the S&P 500 slipped 49.54 points or 1.2 percent to 4,137.23 and the Dow slid 251.63 points or 0.8 percent to 32,784.30.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index slumped 1.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.8 percent and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.4 percent.

Crude oil prices fell to a two-week low on Thursday as diplomatic efforts to stop Israel from a ground invasion of Gaza helped ease concerns about oil supplies. Recent data showing a surge in U.S. crude inventories, and concerns about interest rates also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December sank $2.18 or 2.6 percent at $83.21 a barrel.