Japanese Market Notably Higher

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is notably higher on Thursday, extending the gains in the previous three sessions, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 31,100 level, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, boosted by gains in technology and financial stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 141.00 points or 0.44 percent to 32,151.26, after touching a high of 32,199.12 earlier. Japanese stocks closed notably higher on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 1 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging down 0.2 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is edging down 0.4 percent and Honda is losing almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Screen Holdings is gaining more than 1 percent, while Tokyo Electron and Advantest are adding more than 2 percent each.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is gaining almost 1 percent, while Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are edging up 0.1 to 0.5 percent each.

Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is gaining almost 1 percent and Panasonic is advancing almost 2 percent, while Sony is declining almost 1 percent. Canon is flat.

Among other major gainers, Pacific Metals is losing more than 3 percent.

Conversely, there are no other major losers.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the 145 yen-range on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day on Wednesday, with the major averages all moving to the upside after ending Tuesday's session mixed. The Nasdaq led the charge amid a rally by technology stocks.

The major averages pulled back off their best levels going into the close but remained firmly positive. The Nasdaq surged 215.16 points or 1.6 percent to 13,721.03, the S&P 500 jumped 48.46 points or 1.1 percent to 4,436.01 and the Dow climbed 184.15 points or 0.5 percent to 34,472.98.

The major European markets all also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.7 percent, the German DAX Index rose by 0.2 percent and the French CAC 40 Index inched up by 0.1 percent.

Crude oil futures settled lower Wednesday amid concerns about the outlook for oil demand after data showed a decline in global manufacturing activity. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended lower by $0.75 or 0.9 percent at $78.89 a barrel.