Japanese Market Significantly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Japanese market is trading significantly higher on Thursday, extending the gains in the previous session, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving well above the 37,650 level, with gains in index heavyweights, exporters and financial stocks partially offset by gains in some technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 263.00 points or 0.70 percent to 37,681.24, after touching a high of 37,874.38 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly higher on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 1 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is also adding more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is edging down 0.1 percent, while Honda is gaining more than 2 percent.

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

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

Among the major exporters, Panasonic is gaining more than 2 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is adding almost 5 percent, Sony is advancing almost 4 percent and Canon is up more than 1 percent.

Among other major gainers, OKUMA is skyrocketing almost 11 percent, Japan Steel Works is soaring almost 10 percent, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is surging almost 9 percent, Kawasaki Heavy Industries is gaining 8.5 percent and Taiyo Yuden is advancing more than 6 percent, while Kanadevia and IHI are adding almost 6 percent each. Tokuyama is up more than 5 percent and Citizen Watch is rising more than 4 percent, while Sumitomo Heavy Industries, AGC and GS Yuasa are gaining almost 4 percent each. Mercari is adding more than 3 percent.

Conversely, Mitsubishi Logistics is declining almost 6 percent and Furukawa Electric is sliding almost 5 percent and Fujikura is down more than 3 percent, while Disco and Daiichi Sankyo are losing almost 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 149 yen-range on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks showed a significant turnaround over the course of the trading session on Wednesday, recovering from early weakness to end the day sharply higher. With the rebound, the major averages regained some ground after moving substantially lower over the past several sessions.

The major averages pulled back off their best levels going into the close but still posted strong gains. The Nasdaq surged 267.57 points or 1.5 percent to 18,552.73, the S&P 500 shot up 64.48 points or 1.1 percent to 5,842.63 and the Dow jumped 485.60 points or 1.1 percent to 43,006.59.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. The German DAX Index spiked by 3.4 percent and the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.6 percent, although the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index bucked the uptrend and closed just below the unchanged line.

Crude oil prices settled sharply lower on Wednesday on concerns about global economic growth in the wake of new tariffs by U.S. on several countries, and data showing an unexpected jump in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended lower by $1.95 or about 2.86 percent at $66.31 a barrel, the lowest settlement in about six months.