Japanese Market Significantly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is significantly higher on Thursday after being in the red most of the morning session, extending the gains in the previous session, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 26,600 level, despite the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight, even as traders digested hotter than expected US inflation data that raised concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 169.75 points or 0.64 percent to 26,648.52, after touching a high of 26,677.28 earlier. Japanese stocks closed modestly higher on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining almost 1 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda and Toyota are edging up 0.1 to 0.3 percent each.

In the tech space, Screen Holdings is gaining more than 2 percent, Tokyo Electron is adding more than 3 percent and Advantest is up more than 1 percent.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are edging down 0.4 percent each, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing almost 2 percent.

Among the major exporters, Sony and Mitsubishi Electric are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each, while Panasonic is gaining almost 1 percent. Canon is flat. Among the other major gainers, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha is gaining more than 3 percent, while Keyence is adding almost 3 percent.

Conversely, Tokyo Electric Power is plunging more than 9 percent and Kansai Electric Power is losing almost 3 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 137 yen-range on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Wednesday after recovering from an early move to the downside. The major averages climbed off their early lows and spent the rest of the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

The major averages eventually ended the session in negative territory but well off their worst levels. The Dow slid 208.54 points or 0.7 percent to 30,772.79, the Nasdaq edged down 17.15 points or 0.2 percent to 11,247.58 and the S&P 500 fell 17.02 points or 0.5 percent to 3,801.78.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index slumped by 1.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both slid by 0.7 percent.

Crude oil prices shrugged off a surge in U.S. inflation and climbed higher on Wednesday, rebounding smartly after suffering a sharp loss in the previous session. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended higher by $0.46 at $96.30 a barrel.