The Japanese stock market is notably higher in choppy trading on Tuesday, recouping some to the losses of the previous session, with the benchmark Nikkei index above the 28,700 level, despite the absence of fresh cues from Wall Street, which was closed overnight for a holiday, as traders digested upbeat local data that showed household spending rising.
However, traders remained spooked after Tokyo reported 342 fresh coronavirus infections on Monday. There are also reports that the Japanese government is potentially keeping the quasi-state of emergency covering Tokyo in place during the Summer Olympics as infections continue to accelerate after the recent slight respite.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is gaining 132.40 points or 0.46 percent to 28,730.59, after touching a high of 28,748.23 earlier. Japanese shares closed significantly lower on Monday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 1 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda and Toyota are edging up 0.2 percent each, while Nissan Motor is adding more than 2 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest and Screen Holdings are edging down 0.3 percent, while Tokyo Electron is flat. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are gaining almost 1 percent each.
The major exporters are mixed, with Sony gaining more than 1 percent and Canon edging up 0.5 percent, while Panasonic is edging down 0.5 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is losing more than 1 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Hitachi Zosen is gaining more than 4 percent, while Daikin Industries, Toho Zinc and Inpex are adding more than 3 percent each. Idemitsu Kosan, Mitsui & Co. and Kobe Steel are up almost 3 percent each. ENEOS Holdings, Sojitz, JFE Holdings, Mitsui E&S Holdings, ANA Holdings, Fujikura and Nippon Steel are all rising more than 2 percent each.
Conversely, Kuraray and Yamaha Motor are losing more than 3 percent, while Mitsubishi Motors is declining almost 3 percent. Toyo Seikan Group and Nexon are down more than 2 percent each.
In economic news, the average of household spending in Japan was up 11.6 percent on year in May, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Tuesday – coming in at 281,063 yen. That beat forecasts for an increase of 10.9 percent following the 13.0 percent spike in April. On a monthly basis, household spending was down 2.1 percent – but that beat expectations for a decline of 3.7 percent following the 0.1 percent gain in the previous month. The average of monthly income per household stood at 489,019 yen, down 2.6 percent on year.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 110 yen-range on Tuesday.
Overnight, the U.S. markets were closed for the Independence Day holiday.
Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day amid rising optimism about economic rebound on the back of data showing stronger than expected growth of eurozone private sector. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.58 percent, Germany’s DAX edged up 0.08 percent and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.22 percent.
Crude oil prices rose sharply as OPEC abandoned output talks without a deal. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery jumped $1.20 or 1.56 percent to $76.36 per barrel.
Market Analysis
Japanese Market Notably Higher
2021-07-06 02:27:45
