The Japanese stock market is notably higher on Thursday, extending the gains of the previous session, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 again breaking above the 29,000 mark, following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street. Traders remain concerned after the Japanese government extended the COVID-19 state of emergency in Tokyo, Osaka and seven other prefectures to contain the spread of the highly contagious variants of the virus, though the daily infection rates are steadily declining since it peaked in mid-May.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is gaining 97.45 points or 0.34 percent to 29,043.59, after touching a high of 29,157.16 in early deals. Japanese shares ended modestly higher on Wednesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 2 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is down almost 5 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is gaining more than 2 percent and Toyota is adding almost 3 percent, while Mazda is losing more than 2 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 4 percent, while Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron are adding more than 1 percent each. In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is gaining almost 1 percent and Mizuho Financial is edging up 0.4 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is flat.
The major exporters are mostly higher. Mitsubishi Electric and Panasonic are edging up 0.4 percent each, while Sony is gaining almost 1 percent and Canon is adding more than 1 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Casio Computer is gaining almost 6 percent, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma is up almost 5 percent and Japan Steel Works is adding more than 4 percent, while Ajinomoto and East Japan Railway are rising almost 4 percent each. IHI, Credit Saison and Mitsui Chemicals are up more than 3 percent each, while Daiichi Sankyo, Sapporo Holdings, Yokohama Rubber, Nippon Suisan Kaisha and Keisei Electric Railway are gaining almost 3 percent each.
Conversely, Denka is losing more than 6 percent, CyberAgent is down almost 3 percent, Sinsei Bank is declining more than 2 percent and Nexon is losing almost 2 percent. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Toyo Seikan, TDK, Nippon Yusen, Sumitomo Metal Mining, Citizen Watch, Mitsui OSK Lines and Z Holdings are all down more than 1 percent each.
In economic news, the services sector in Japan continued to contract in May, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed on Thursday, with a services PMI score of 46.5. That’s up from 49.5 in April and it moves further beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The survey also said its composite index slipped to 48.8 in May from 51.0 in April.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 109 yen-range on Thursday.
On Wall Street, stocks moved to the upside in early trading on Wednesday, largely mirroring the performance seen in the previous session, but showed a lack of direction for much of the rest of the day. The major averages once again finished the day near the unchanged line.
A late move to the upside helped the major averages close modestly higher. The Dow inched up 25.07 points or 0.1 percent to 34,600.38, the Nasdaq edged up 19.85 points or 0.1 percent to 13,756.33 and the S&P 500 crept up 6.08 points or 0.1 percent to 4,208.12.
The major European markets all also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index edged up by 0.2 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.4 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.
Crude oil prices rose sharply on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous session, amid rising hopes about a pickup in energy demand and on the decision by OPEC to gradually increase crude production. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended up $1.11 or 1.6 percent at $68.83 a barrel, the highest since October 2018.
Market Analysis
Japanese Market Notably Higher
2021-06-03 02:32:43
