Japanese Market Slightly Higher

The Japanese stock market is slightly higher on Thursday after being in the red since market opening, recouping some of the losses in the previous session, with the Nikkei 225 staying above the 32,200 level, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders reacted to data showing producer prices in Japan slowed for the seventh consecutive month in July and also rose the least in more than two years.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 24.67 points or 0.08 percent to 32,229.00, after touching a high of 32,270.91 and a low of 32,015.96 earlier. Japanese stocks closed notably lower on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging up 0.3 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is also edging up 0.3 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is edging up 0.5 percent and Honda is surging more than 6 percent.

In the tech space, Screen Holdings is losing almost 2 percent, Tokyo Electron is declining more than 2 percent and Advantest is slipping almost 3 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is gaining more than 2 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging up 0.4 percent, while Mizuho Financial is edging down 0.2 percent.

Among the major exporters, Canon is edging up 0.5 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is gaining more than 2 percent and Panasonic is adding almost 1 percent, while Sony is declining almost 6 percent.

Among other major gainers, Inpex is skyrocketing almost 17 percent, Nippon Sheet Glass is soaring almost 16 percent, NEXON is surging more than 11 percent and FUJIFILM is gaining almost 7 percent, while J. Front Retailing and Secom are adding more than 5 percent each. Kuraray and Mitsui E&S are up almost 5 percent each, while Takashimaya, Isetan Mitsukoshi and ENEOS are rising almost 4 percent each. Asahi Group and Sompo Holdings are advancing more than 3 percent each, while Odakyu Electric Railway is up almost 3 percent.

Conversely, Olympus is plummeting more than 11 percent, Mitsubishi Materials is plunging more than 8 percent, DeNA is sliding more than 7 percent and Nippon Express is slipping more than 6 percent, while Pacific Metals and Recruit Holdings are losing almost 5 percent. Nikon is down almost 4 percent and Nippon Paper Industries is declining more than 3 percent, while Sharp, Haseko and Sumitomo Osaka Cement are down almost 3 percent each.

In economic news, producer prices in Japan were up 0.1 percent on month in July, the Bank of Japan said on Thursday. That was shy of expectations for an increase of 0.2 percent following the upwardly revised 0.1 percent decline in June (originally -0.2 percent). On a yearly basis, producer prices climbed 3.6 percent, topping forecasts for 3.5 percent and down from the upwardly revised 4.3 percent increase in the previous month (originally 4.1 percent).

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 143 yen-range on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Wednesday before ending the day mostly lower. The major averages all moved to the downside, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 falling to their lowest closing levels in a month.

The major averages came under pressure going into the close, finishing the session firmly in the red. The tech-heavy Nasdaq slumped 162.31 points or 1.2 percent to 13,722.02, the S&P 500 slid 31.67 points or 0.7 percent to 4,467.71 and the Dow fell 191.13 points or 0.5 percent at 35,123.36.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index climbed by 0.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.7 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.

Crude oil prices moved higher on Wednesday, extending recent gains as output cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia continued to raise concerns about supply. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery jumped $1.48 pr 1.8 percent to $84.40 a barrel.

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