The Japanese stock market is modestly higher in choppy trading on Friday, after the losses in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 just above the 29,100 level, following the mixed cues overnight from Wall Street. Traders are optimistic after the Japanese government decided to lift the COVID-19 state of emergency in most prefectures on Sunday after a steady decline in COVID-19 infections was seen. Traders also await the Bank of Japan’s interest rate decision later in the day.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is gaining 87.70 points or 0.30 percent to 29,106.03, after touching a high of 29,136.74 earlier. Japanese shares closed notably lower on Thursday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 1 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing almost 2 percent, while Toyota and Mazda are down more than 2 percent each.
In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 2 percent, while Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron are adding more than 1 percent each. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are losing more than 2 percent, while Mizuho Financial is down almost 2 percent.
Among major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric and Sony are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Panasonic is edging up 0.3 percent. Canon is losing almost 2 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Eisai is gaining more than 9 percent, while Sumco, M3, CyberAgent and Terumo are adding almost 3 percent each. Yokogawa Electric and Toyobo are up more than 2 percent each.
Conversely, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha is losing more than 8 percent, while Nippon Yusen K.K. and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines are down almost 8 percent each. Dai-ichi Life Holdings is lower by almost 5 percent, while Kawasaki Heavy Industries, JFE Holdings and Sompo Holdings are down more than 4 percent each. Showa Denko K.K. and JTEKT are losing almost 4 percent each, while Nippon Sheet Glass, Pacific Metals, Shiseido and Kobe Steel are down more than 3 percent each.
In economic news, overall consumer prices in Japan were down 0.1 percent on year in May, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday, following the 0.4 percent contraction in April. On a monthly basis, inflation was up 0.3 percent after sinking 0.4 percent in the previous month. Core consumer prices, which exclude volatile food costs, were up 0.1 percent on year after falling 0.1 percent a month earlier. Core CPI was up 0.2 percent on month.
The Bank of Japan is scheduled to wrap up its monetary policy meeting on Friday and then announce its decision on interest rates. The central bank is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate steady at -0.1 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 110 yen-range on Friday.
On Wall Street, stocks turned in a mixed performance during trading on Thursday following the broad-based weakness seen in the previous session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq showed a notable rebound, while the Dow extended a recent downward trend.
The major averages ended the day on opposite sides of the unchanged line. While the Nasdaq advanced 121.67 points or 0.9 percent to 14,161.35, the Dow slid 210.22 points or 0.6 percent to 33,823.45 and the S&P 500 edged down 1.84 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 4,221.86.
The major European markets also ended the day mixed. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent, the German DAX Index inched up by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.2 percent.
Crude oil prices tumbled on Thursday, weighed down by a stronger dollar after Federal Reserve officials projected that interest rates might be hiked by 2023. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended down by $1.11 or 1.5 percent at $71.04 a barrel.
Market Analysis
Japanese Market Modestly Higher
2021-06-18 02:31:52
