The Japanese stock market is sharply higher on Friday, recouping the modest losses of the previous session, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 gaining almost 600 points to break back above the 29,000 mark, as a weaker Yen also boosted exporters. This despite mixed cues overnight from Wall Street.
Meanwhile, continuing concerns about the spike in daily domestic coronavirus infections and possible more restrictions and lockdowns are limiting the market’s upside. The Japanese government is is set Friday to extend the COVID-19 state of emergency covering Tokyo and eight other prefectures for three weeks until June 20.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is gaining 564.60 points or 1.98 percent to 29,113.61, after touching a high of 29,125.21 earlier. Japanese shares closed modestly lower on Thursday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining 2.5 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding almost 2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining more than 3 percent and Toyota is adding almost 2 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is losing almost 1 percent, while Tokyo Electron is adding more than 2 percent and Screen Holdings is gaining more than 1 percent. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are gaining more than 1 percent each.
The major exporters are higher. Canon and Mitsubishi Electric are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Sony and Panasonic are adding almost 2 percent each.
Among the other major gainers, Hino Motors is gaining more than 7 percent, while Toyo Seikan, Yaskawa Electric and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are adding more than 6 percent each. Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Pacific Metals are up more than 5 percent each, while IHI, Toyota Tsusho, Olympus and Mitsui E&S Holdings are rising almost 5 percent each. Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, T&D Holdings, JTEKT, Toray Industries and Sumitomo Metal Mining are all gaining more than 4 percent each.
Conversely, CyberAgent is losing more than 3 percent and Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma is down almost 2 percent.
In economic news, the unemployment rate in Japan came in at a seasonally adjusted 2.8 percent in April, the Ministry of Communications and Internal Affairs said on Friday. That was above expectations for 2.7 percent and was up from 2.6 percent in March. The job-to-applicant ratio was 1.09, again missing forecasts for 1.10, which would have been unchanged from the previous month.
Separately, the Ministry of Communications and Internal Affairs said overall consumer prices in Tokyo were down 0.4 percent on year in May, following the 0.6 percent decline in April. Core CPI was down an annual 0.2 percent, unchanged and in line with expectations. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, overall inflation and core CPI were both higher by 0.3 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 109 yen-range on Friday.
On Wall Street, stocks moved in opposite directions at the start of trading on Thursday and continued to experience choppy trading throughout the session. The Dow ended the day firmly positive, while the broader Nasdaq and S&P 500 closed near the unchanged line.
While the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day down 1.72 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 13,736.28, the Dow rose 141.59 points or 0.4 percent to 34,464.64 and the S&P 500 inched up 4.89 points or 0.1 percent to 4,200.88.
The major European markets also ended the day mixed. While the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.7 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the German DAX Index dipped by 0.3 percent.
Crude oil prices moved higher on Thursday, extending the gains to a fifth straight session following a drop in U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended up $0.64 or 1 percent at $66.85 a barrel.
Market Analysis
Japanese Market Sharply Higher
2021-05-28 02:25:09
