The Japanese stock market is higher on Friday, extending gains of the previous three sessions, with the Nikkei 225 breaking above the 29,500 level, following the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street as a report that showed initial jobless claims declined more than expected and easing bond yields stoked hopes about the economic recovery. The market continues to be driven by technology shares.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is rising 302.35 points or 1.04 percent to the day’s high of 29,513.99, after touching a low of 29,210.40 in early trades. Japanese shares closed higher on Thursday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is adding almost 2 percent, while Fast Retailing is declining more than 2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging down 0.1 percent and Toyota is also edging lower by 0.4 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest and Tokyo Electron are rising more than 4 percent each. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is down almost 1 percent, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging down 0.3 percent.
The major exporters are mixed. Mitsubishi Electric is edging up 0.4 percent, Sony is gaining more than 2 percent, and Panasonic is edging up 0.5 percent, while Canon is edging down 0.3 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Cyber Agent is gaining more than 7 percent, Sumco is adding more than 6 percent, Kawasaki Heavy Industries is up more than 5 percen and IHI is rising almost 5 percent. Mitsui E&S Holdings and Taiyo Yuden t are up more than 4 percent each.
Conversely, Tokyo Fudosan Holdings and Takara Holdings are losing almost 3 percent each. Sumitomo Reality, Keisei Electric railway, Toto, Chugai Pharma and Sompo Holdings are declining more than 2 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 108 yen-range on Friday.
On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday, with the Dow and the S&P 500 reaching new record closing highs. The tech-heavy Nasdaq showed a particularly strong upward move after ending the previous session slightly lower.
The Nasdaq soared 329.84 points or 2.5 percent to 13,398.67 and the S&P 500 jumped 40.53 points 1 percent to 3,939.34. The Dow pulled back well off its best levels of the day but still closed up 188.57 points or 0.6 percent to 32,485.59.
The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.7 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index both rose by 0.2 percent.
Crude oil futures moved sharply higher on Thursday, extending the rebound seen in the previous session amid optimism about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate jumped $1.58 or 2.45 percent to $66.02 per barrel.
Market Analysis
Japanese Market Extending Gains Into Fourth Day
2021-03-12 02:32:24
