The Japanese stock market extended its gains for the third consecutive session on Thursday, buoyed by positive global market sentiments overnight. The Nikkei 225 index surged past the 42,100 mark to reach all-time highs, driven by strong performances from major index components and exporter stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index climbed 333.30 points, or 0.80%, to 42,165.29, after reaching an intraday high of 42,426.77 earlier. Notably, Japanese stocks closed significantly higher on Wednesday as well.
Among market heavyweights, SoftBank Group increased by nearly 1%, while Fast Retailing, the operator of Uniqlo, rose by almost 2%. In the automotive sector, Toyota dipped slightly by 0.1%, whereas Honda gained nearly 1%.
In the technology sector, Advantest declined by over 1%, and Screen Holdings fell by more than 2%, whereas Tokyo Electron edged up by 0.3%.
Within the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial saw a slight dip of 0.3%, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial inched up by 0.1% each.
Major exporters performed well, with Canon up by 0.4%, Mitsubishi Electric gaining nearly 1%, Sony surging by 3.5%, and Panasonic advancing by over 2%.
Other significant gainers included NTN, which climbed almost 4%. Dowa Holdings, Trend Micro, Mitsubishi Motors, Sumco, and Nitto Denko each rose by more than 3%. Additionally, Alps Alpine, Subaru, Murata Manufacturing, Shionogi & Co., and Sumitomo Chemical each advanced by nearly 3%.
Conversely, Mercari experienced a sharp decline, losing nearly 6%.
On the economic front, Japan's core machine orders fell by a seasonally adjusted 3.2% in May to 857.8 billion yen, according to the Cabinet Office. This decline missed forecasts predicting a 0.9% increase, following a 2.9% decrease in April. However, on an annual basis, orders rose by 10.8%, surpassing expectations of a 7.2% increase. For Q2 2024, core machine orders are projected to fall by 1.6% quarter-on-quarter and 2.8% year-on-year to 2,581.0 billion yen.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 161 yen range on Thursday.
On Wall Street, stocks saw significant gains on Wednesday, rebounding from the previous session's lackluster performance. The S&P 500 closed above 5,600 for the first time in history. The major indices showed further strength toward the close, ending the day near session highs. The Nasdaq surged by 218.16 points, or 1.2%, to 18,647.45, the Dow jumped by 429.39 points, or 1.1%, to 39,721.36, and the S&P 500 rose by 56.93 points, or 1.0%, to 5,633.91.
European markets also experienced gains, with the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index up by 0.7%, and both the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index rising by 0.9%.
Crude oil prices settled higher on Wednesday, driven by a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August concluded the session higher by $0.69, trading at $82.10 per barrel.
