Japan Stock Market May Challenge Resistance At 40,000 Points

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, advancing more than 675 points or 1.7 percent along the way. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 39,460-point plateau and it's expected to extend its gains again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were mostly in the green and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The Nikkei finished sharply higher on Thursday as the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers were mostly higher.

For the day, the index surged 497.77 points or 1.28 percent to finish at 39,461.47 after trading between 39,112.17 and 39,581.47.

Among the actives, Nissan Motor fell 0.34 percent, while Mazda Motor rallied 2.63 percent, Toyota Motor advanced 0.91 percent, Honda Motor accelerated 2.14 percent, Softbank Group plunged 3.57 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial jumped 1.86 percent, Mizuho Financial soared 2.66 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial strengthened 1.42 percent, Mitsubishi Electric perked 0.02 percent, Sony Group climbed 1.13 percent, Panasonic Holdings eased 0.05 percent and Hitachi gained 2.73 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is strong as the major averages opened slightly higher on Thursday but only continued to strengthen as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow jumped 342.87 points or 0.77 percent to finish at 44,711.43, while the NASDAQ surged 295.69 points or 1.50 percent to close at 19,945.64 and the S&P 500 rallied 63.10 points or 1.04 percent to end at 6,115.07.

The rally on Wall Street came after the Labor Department released its report on producer price inflation in January. While the headline number rose by more than expected, components of the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation reading were relatively tame.

The data helped to ease concerns about the outlook for interest rates after Wednesday's consumer price numbers came in hitter than expected.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by slightly more than expected last week.