Japanese Market Significantly Higher

Recouping some of the losses in the previous three sessions, the Japanese stock market is significantly higher on Friday, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight. The benchmark Nikkei 225 is moving above the 39,900 level, with gains across most sectors led by index heavyweights, financial and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is gaining 303.29 points or 0.77 percent to 39,902.00, after touching a high of 39,951.59 earlier. Japanese stocks closed significantly lower on Thursday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging up 0.5 percent and Toyota is also edging up 0.4 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 3 percent, Screen Holdings is adding almost 2 percent and Tokyo Electron is advancing almost 3 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging up 0.4 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is advancing almost 2 percent and Mizuho Financial is gaining almost 4 percent.

Among major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is gaining more than 1 percent, Canon is adding almost 1 percent and Panasonic is edging up 0.2 percent, while Sony is edging down 0.5 percent.

Among other major gainers, Osaka Gas is surging more than 5 percent, while Kajima and Taisei are gaining more than 4 percent each. Eisai is up almost 4 percent and Obayashi are adding more than 3 percent, while Fuji Electric, Pacific Metals and Nichirei are advancing almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Keisei Electric Railway is losing almost 6 percent, while Oriental Land, Tokyo Tatemono and Isuzu Motors are declining more than 3 percent each. Keio is down almost 3 percent.

In economic news, the average of household spending was down 6.3 percent on year in January, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Friday – coming in at 289,467 yen. That missed expectations for a decline of 4.1 percent following the 2.5 percent drop in December. On a monthly basis, household spending slipped 2.1 percent – again shy of forecasts for an increase of 0.4 percent after sinking 0.9 percent in the previous month. The average of monthly income per household stood at 497,383 yen, down 2.1 percent on year.

Further, Japan posted a current account surplus of 438.2 billion yen in January, the Ministry of Finance said on Friday. That exceeded expectations for a deficit of 330 billion yen following the 744 billion yen surplus in December. Imports were down 12.1 percent on year to 8.783 trillion yen and exports gained an annual 7.6 percent at 7.340 trillion yen for a trade deficit of 1.442 trillion yen. The capital account showed a deficit of 100 million yen, while the financial account had a surplus of 1.808 trillion yen.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 147 yen-range on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply higher during trading on Thursday extending the rebound seen during Wednesday’s session. The major averages further offset the notable pullback seen to start the week, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 bouncing back to record intraday highs.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq surged 241.83 points or 1.5 percent to 16,273.38, ending the day just shy of last Friday’s record closing high, while the S&P 500 managed to set a new record closing high, jumping 52.60 points or 1.0 percent to 5,157.36. The narrower Dow posted a more modest gain, rising 130.30 points or 0.3 percent to 38,791.35.

The major European markets all also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index edged up by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.7 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.

Crude oil futures drifted lower on Thursday amid some concerns about the outlook for demand, although the downside was limited by a weaker greenback. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April fell $0.20 or 0.3 percent at $78.93 a barrel.

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