Japanese Market Slightly Higher

The Japanese stock market is trading slightly higher on Monday, adding to the gains in the previous session. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving a tad above the 39,000 mark, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street on Friday, with gains is index heavyweights and technology stocks partially offset by weakness in financial stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 27.11 or 0.07 percent at 39,008.86, after touching a high of 39,048.44 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly higher on Friday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging up 0.3 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining almost 1 percent and Toyota is edging up 0.4 percent.

In the tech space, Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron are edging up 0.3 to 0.4 percent each, while Advantest is adding more than 1 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is losing almost 2 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is down more than 1 percent and Mizuho Financial is edging down 0.5 percent.

The major exporters are mostly higher. Sony and Mitsubishi Electric are edging up 0.5 percent each, while Panasonic is gaining almost 1 percent. Canon is edging down 0.5 percent.

Among other major gainers, Rakuten Group is gaining almost 4 percent and M3 is adding more than 3 percent, while Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha and LY are advancing almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Sumitomo Pharma is losing more than 4 percent, while Tokyo Electric Power and NEC are down almost 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 149 yen-range on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Friday after ending the previous session little changed. The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the charge, while the Dow ended the day modestly higher at a new record closing high.

The Nasdaq climbed 115.94 points or 0.6 percent to 18,489.55 and the S&P 500 rose 23.20 points or 0.4 percent to a new record closing high of 5,864.67. The narrower Dow recovered from an initial pullback to end the day up by 36.86 points or 0.1 percent at 43,275.91.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and German DAX Index both climbed by 0.4 percent.

Crude oil prices fell on Friday following downward revisions in oil demand forecast from OPEC and the International Energy Agency. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for November sank $1.45 or 2.05 percent at $69.22 a barrel. WTI crude futures fell more than 8 percent in the week.

Market Analysis