The Japanese stock market experienced a notable upswing on Wednesday, building on the momentum of the past two trading sessions thanks to encouraging signals from global markets overnight. The Nikkei 225 index is trading slightly above the 39,600 mark, bolstered by gains in major index components, exporters, and technology stocks.
The Nikkei 225 Index has risen by 572.32 points or 1.47% to reach 39,600.30, after peaking at 39,612.00 earlier in the session. On Tuesday, Japanese stocks concluded the day with minor gains.
Leading the market, SoftBank Group has surged by 8.5%, while Fast Retailing, Uniqlo's parent company, is up marginally by 0.2%. In the automotive sector, Honda has increased by 0.4%, and Toyota has climbed nearly 2%.
In the technology sector, Advantest is up by over 4%, Screen Holdings has added more than 3%, and Tokyo Electron has gained 1.5%.
Within the banking sphere, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial shows a slight decline of 0.2%, while Mizuho Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial remain stable.
Among key exporters, Canon has edged up by 0.3%, Sony has gained over 1%, Mitsubishi Electric has risen by more than 2%, and Panasonic is up nearly 1%.
Notable individual gainers include Furukawa Electric, which has spiked by over 9%, Fujikura, soaring over 7%, Disco, increasing by almost 7%, and Sumitomo Electric, gaining over 4%. Fuji Electric, Eisai, and Renesas Electronics have each added nearly 4%, while Japan Steel Works, Hitachi, and Rakuten Group have all increased by nearly 3%.
Conversely, there are no significant decliners of note.
In the foreign exchange market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the mid-155 yen range as of Wednesday.
On Wall Street, stocks continued their upward trend on Tuesday after a positive start. The major indices concluded the day on a strong note, buoyed by declining bond yields and optimism regarding potential interest rate cuts this year.
The Dow closed with an increase of 537.98 points, or 1.24%, at 44,025.81. The S&P 500 rose by 52.58 points, or 0.88%, finishing at 6,049.24, while the Nasdaq concluded at 19,756.78, up 126.58 points, or 0.64%.
European markets also witnessed gains, with the U.K.'s FTSE 100 rising by 0.33%, Germany's DAX up by 0.25%, and France's CAC 40 advancing by 0.48%.
In commodity news, crude oil prices fell on Tuesday, influenced by plans from former President Trump to enhance oil and gas production in the U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February dropped $1.99, or 2.56%, ending at $75.89 per barrel.
