Japanese stocks saw modest gains on Tuesday, continuing the upward momentum from the previous session. The Nikkei 225 index rose above the 39,100 mark, supported by strong performances from technology giants and index heavyweights, though gains were tempered by weakness in the exporter and financial sectors.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index increased by 113.64 points, or 0.29%, to 39,151.80, after reaching an intraday high of 39,336.66. This follows a significant rally in Japanese shares on Monday.
Key market player SoftBank Group saw a slight dip of 0.4%, while Fast Retailing, the operator of Uniqlo, remained unchanged. Among automotive makers, Honda gained nearly 1%, and Toyota saw a modest 0.5% increment.
In the technology sector, Advantest surged close to 1%, Tokyo Electron added almost 2%, but Screen Holdings experienced a minor decline of 0.2%.
Within the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial dipped nearly 1%, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial edged down 0.5%, whereas Mizuho Financial climbed almost 1%.
Major exporters largely trended downward, with Panasonic losing over 1%, Sony slipping 0.5%, and Mitsubishi Electric falling nearly 3%. Canon managed a slight increase of 0.1%.
Among other significant performers, Furukawa Electric advanced close to 4%, while Taiyo Yuden, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, JGC Holdings, and Ebara each gained around 3%. Conversely, Eisai saw a drop of over 3%.
On the economic front, the Bank of Japan reported that the M2 money stock rose 1.9% year-on-year in May, reaching 1,259.0 trillion yen, following a 2.2% increase in April. The M3 money stock climbed 1.3% to 1,611.3 trillion yen, slowing from the previous month's 1.6% rise. The L money stock increased 3.3% year-on-year to 2,182.8 trillion yen, accelerating from 2.7% in the prior month.
In currency movements, the U.S. dollar traded in the lower 157 yen range on Tuesday.
On Wall Street, stocks exhibited indecisiveness on Monday, continuing the sluggish trend from the previous sessions. Despite the volatile trading, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 achieved new record highs. The Nasdaq rose by 59.40 points, or 0.4%, to 17,192.53, the S&P 500 increased by 13.80 points, or 0.3%, to 5,360.79, and the Dow edged up by 69.05 points, or 0.2%, to 38,868.04.
European stock markets, meanwhile, moved lower. The French CAC 40 Index dropped 1.3%, the German DAX Index decreased by 0.3%, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slipped by 0.2%.
In commodity markets, crude oil prices surged on Monday, fueled by positive energy demand forecasts. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for July concluded the session up by $2.21, or approximately 2.9%, closing at $77.74 per barrel.
