Japanese Market Significantly Higher

Recouping the losses in the previous session, the Japanese stock market is significantly higher on Thursday, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving well above the 37,900 level, with gains in index heavyweights and technology stocks amid strong domestic corporate earnings and outlook.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 256.46 points or 0.68 percent to 37,959.78, after touching a fresh 34-year high of 38,127.85 earlier. Japanese shares ended significantly lower on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining almost 3 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding almost 2 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is losing almost 1 percent, while Honda is adding almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 2 percent, while Tokyo Electron and Screen Holdings are advancing almost 4 percent each.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is gaining more than 1 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are edging up 0.1 to 0.5 percent each.

Among the major exporters, Canon is edging down 0.1 percent and while Mitsubishi Electric is gaining almost 3 percent. Panasonic is flat. Sony is plummeting more than 8 percent after it reduced its full-year outlook for the gaming division, particularly slashing PlayStation 5 sales outlook.

Among other major gainers, Ebara is skyrocketing almost 16 percent, Rakuten Group soaring almost 15 percent, MS&AD Insurance Group is surging almost 14 percent, Sumitomo Heavy Industries is advancing almost 11 percent and Resonac Holdings is rising more than 7 percent, while Sompo Holdings and Tokio Marine are gaining almost 7 percent each. Kubota is adding almost 6 percent and Nitto Denko is gaining almost 5 percent, while T&D Holdings and Shin-Etsu Chemical are adding more than 4 percent each. Idemitsu Kosan is up almost 4 percent.

Conversely, BANDAI NAMCO is plummeting almost 15 percent, Toppan Holdings is plunging almost 10 percent, Sapporo Holdings is sliding more than 8 percent, Takara Holdings is declining more than 6 percent, Kirin Holdings is slipping almost 5 percent and Olympus is losing more than 4 percent, while Nippon Express and Eisai are down almost 4 percent each. Yamaha, Nippon Paper Industries and Fujikura are losing more than 3 percent each, while Alps Alpine, Shiseido and Asahi Group are declining almost 3 percent each.

In economic news, Japan’s gross domestic product contracted by a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2023, the Cabinet Office said on Thursday. That missed expectations for an increase of 0.2 percent following the downwardly revised 0.8 percent decline in the third quarter (originally -0.7 percent). On an annualized basis, GDP slipped 0.4 percent following the downwardly revised 3.3 percent drop in the three months prior (originally -2.9 percent).

Capital expenditure fell 0.1 percent on quarter after slipping 0.6 in Q3, while external demand rose 0.2 percent after easing 0.1 percent in the previous three months. The GDP price index was up 3.8 percent on year, down from 5.8 percent – while private consumption was down 0.2 percent on quarter after slipping 0.3 percent in the third quarter..

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 150 yen-range on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks showed a strong move back to the upside during trading on Wednesday, partly offsetting the sell-off seen in the previous session. The major averages all moved higher on the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the rebound.

After plunging by 1.8 percent Tuesday’s trading, the Nasdaq surged 203.55 points or 1.3 percent to 15,859.15. The S&P 500 also jumped 47.45 points or 1.0 percent to 5,000.62, while the Dow climbed 151.52 points or 0.4 percent at 38,424.27.

The major European markets all also have moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index has risen by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index are both up by 0.7 percent.

Crude oil prices settled lower on Wednesday, snapping a seven-day winning streak after data showed a big increase in crude inventories in the U.S. last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended down $1.23 or about 1.6 percent at $76.64 a barrel.

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