On Monday, the Japanese stock market is continuing to see some growth, building on the momentum from the previous session. The primary indicator, the S&P/ASX 200, is slightly above the 36,300 mark due to the encouraging signals from Wall Street on Friday. This growth is driven by gains in significant stocks and finance companies, in spite of a downtrend in technology stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index shows an increase of 150.66 or 0.42 percent, leading to a present figure of 36,308.68, a commendable increase from a previous high of 36,452.62. The Japanese stock market concluded the past week on a high note.
In terms of individual corporations, SoftBank Group's share prices have risen by over 2 percent, and Fast Retailing, the operator of Uniqlo, is also seeing a marginal 0.1 percent growth. Among vehicle manufacturers, both Honda and Toyota's shares are on the rise, seeing nearly 2 percent and 1 percent growth respectively.
Meanwhile, the technology sector displays a different narrative. Screen Holdings has experienced more than a 4 percent decline, Advantest is down nearly 3 percent, and Tokyo Electron is showing a decrease of close to 1 percent.
In contrast, the banking industry has shown some encouraging signs. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial has experienced over 1 percent growth, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is up more than 2 percent, and Mizuho Financial has increased nearly 3 percent.
However, not all news was positive. Sumitomo Chemical experienced a dramatic decline of over 10 percent, Minebea Mitsumi lost almost 6 percent, and shares of Toyota Tsusho and KDDI fell by almost 4 and 3 percent, respectively.
In financial news, the service industry in Japan continues its expansion in January, at an even faster pace than before, as indicated by a PMI score of 53.1 according to the latest survey by Jibun Bank, a significant increase from December's 51.5.
In exchange markets, the U.S. dollar is currently trading in the lower 148 yen-range.
Regarding global markets, Wall Street made a prominent recovery on Friday following Thursday's increase, perfectly countering Wednesday's drastic fall. The day ended with both the Dow and the S&P 500 achieving record-setting closing highs.
On the other hand, the major markets in Europe had a mixed day; UK's FTSE 100 Index decreased by 0.1 percent, whereas French CAC 40 Index grew marginally by 0.1 percent, and the German DAX Index increased by 0.4 percent.
Crude oil prices experienced a sharp fall on Friday. The hope for an early rate cut by the Federal Reserve dimmed when data showed a more substantial than expected growth in U.S. non-farm payroll employment in January. The sudden rise in the value of the dollar following the job data further pressured the oil prices with the West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures reducing by about 2.1 percent to $72.28 a barrel, reflecting a more than 7 percent decrease in the week.
