The Japanese stock market is modestly higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark Nikkei index just above the 27,800 level, following the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, amid optimism about economic recovery in the US after full approval of the two-dose Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for COVID-19.
Traders were also upbeat after a Bank of Japan board member reportedly said the Japanese economy was headed for a recovery driven by robust global demand.
However, traders remain extremely concerned as the country continues to struggle to contain the rapid spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is gaining 90.93 points or 0.33 percent to 27,823.03, after touching a high of 27,897.72 earlier. Japanese stocks closed significantly higher on Tuesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 3 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining almost 1 percent and Toyota is adding almost 3 percent.
In the tech space, Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron are edging down 0.2 percent each, while Advantest is flat.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are edging up 0.2 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is flat.
Among the major exporters, Panasonic is gaining almost 2 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is up almost 1 percent and Sony is adding more than 1 percent, while Canon is flat.
Among the other major gainers, Shionogi & Co. and Mitsubishi Motors are gaining more than 4 percent each, while JFE Holdings and Showa Denko K.K. are adding almost 4 percent each. Rakuten Group, Dowa Holdings and Denso are up more than 3 percent each.
Conversely, DIC Corp. is losing almost 3 percent and Ebara Corp. is down more than 2 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 109 yen-range on Wednesday.
On Wall Street, stocks stayed positive right through the day’s session on Tuesday despite turning a bit sluggish at times amid optimism about growth and hopes that the Fed might note begin tapering its bond-buying program anytime soon.
Among the major averages, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, both posted new record closing highs. The Dow ended with a gain of 30.55 points or 0.09 percent at 35,366.26.The S&P 500 settled at 4,486.23, gaining 6.70 points or 0.15 percent, while the tech-laden Nasdaq ended higher by 77.15 points or 0.52 percent at 15,019.80.
Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day, failing to hold early gains. France’s CAC 40 declined 0.28 percent, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 and Germany’s DAX gained 0.24% and 0.53%, respectively.
Crude oil prices moved higher Tuesday for a second straight session as concerns for energy demand eased signs of falling coronavirus infections in China, India and some other countries. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended up $1.90 or 3 percent at $67.54 a barrel.
Market Analysis
Japanese Market Modestly Higher
2021-08-25 02:28:01
