The Japanese stock market is now modestly higher in choppy trading on Friday, recouping the slight losses in the previous session, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 staying above the 28,000 mark, following the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, even as the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus continues to stifle economic activity in most cities in the country.
Japan reported 18,889 new cases on Thursday, setting a single-day record high for the second consecutive day and topping 18,000 for the first time.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is gaining 40.25 points or 0.14 percent to 28,055.27, after touching a high of 28.070.00 and hitting a low of 27,949.33 earlier. Japanese shares closed slightly lower on Thursday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing are edging down 0.2 percent each. Among automakers, Honda is edging down 0.4 percent, while Toyota is edging up 0.4 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is losing almost 3 percent and Tokyo Electron is down more than 1 percent and Screen Holdings is declining almost 2 percent. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are edging down 0.4 percent each, while Mizuho Financial is flat.
Among major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is edging up 0.3 percent and Sony is gaining more than 1 percent, while Panasonic and Canon are flat.
Among the other major losers, Oki Electric Industry is losing almost 10 percent and Yamato Holdings is down more than 6 percent and Fujikura is declining more than 3 percent, while Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Japan Steel Works are lower by almost 3 percent each.
Conversely, Recruit Holdings is gaining almost 11 percent, JFE Holdings is adding almost 5 percent and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha is up more than 3 percent, while Nexon and Trend Micro and Ricoh are rising almost 3 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 110 yen-range on Friday.
On Wall Street, stocks closed higher on Thursday, after what turned out to be a somewhat lackluster session. Data showing acceleration in producer prices and a drop in jobless claims suggested the economy is well and truly on the recovery track.
Among the major averages, the Dow and S&P 500 scaled new record highs. The Dow, which rose to 35,510.77, settled at 35,499.85, gaining 14.88 points or 0.04 percent. The S&P 500 ended up by 13.13 points or 0.3 percent at 4,460.83, slightly off a new high of 4,461.77. The Nasdaq moved higher to settle at 14,816.26, gaining 51.13 points or 0.35 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets finished the day mixed. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index ended down 0.37 percent, the German DAX Index rose 0.7 percent and the French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.36 percent.
Crude oil prices drifted lower Thursday on concerns about outlook for energy demand after an International Energy Agency report said oil demand growth will likely ebb in the second half of the year. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended down by $0.16 or 0.2 percent at $69.09 a barrel.
Market Analysis
Japanese Market Modestly Higher
2021-08-13 02:31:27
