Japanese Market Sharply Higher

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is sharply higher on Monday, recouping the losses in the previous session, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 33,300 level, following the broadly positive cues from global markets on Friday, with gains across most sectors, led by exporters and index heavyweights. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 624.37 or 1.91 percent at 33,383.60, after touching a high of 33,402.08 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly lower on Friday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is advancing almost 3 percent. Among automakers, Honda and Toyota are gaining almost 3 percent each.

In the tech space, Tokyo Electron is gaining almost 3 percent, while Screen Holdings is edging down 0.5 percent and Advantest is losing more than 1 percent. In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging up 0.2 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging down 0.1 percent. Mizuho Financial is flat.

The major exporters are mostly higher. Sony is gaining more than 2 percent, Canon is adding almost 2 percent, Panasonic is advancing more than 3 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is edging up 0.5 percent.

Among other major gainers, Toyota Tsusho is soaring almost 10 percent, while Kansai Electric Power and Hitachi are surging more than 5 percent each. NEC, Denso, Daiichi Sankyo and Chugai Pharmaceutical are gaining almost 5 percent, while Konami Group, Chubu Electric Power, Renesas Electronics and Yokohama Rubber are adding more than 4 percent each. Toppan, Concordia Financial Group and Nitto Denko are up almost 4 percent each, while Hoya is rising more than 3 percent.

Conversely, Fanuc is losing more than 6 percent, Sumitomo Pharma is declining more than 5 percent and Keyence is down almost 4 percent.

In economic news, the value of retail sales in Japan was down 0.4 percent on month in June, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Monday - coming in at 13.225 trillion yen. That missed expectations for an increase of 0.2 percent following the upwardly revised 1.4 percent gain in May (originally 1.3 percent). On a yearly basis, retail sales climbed 5.9 percent, matching forecasts and up from 5.8 percent in the previous month.

The METI also said industrial output in Japan was up 2.0 percent on month in June. That was shy of expectations for a gain of 2.4 percent following the 2.2 percent decline in May. On a yearly basis, industrial production slipped 0.4 percent after jumping 4.2 percent in the previous month. Upon the release of the data, the METI revised its assessment of industrial production, saying that it is showing signs of increase at a moderate pace.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the mid-141 yen-range on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks closed on a bright note on Friday, firmly holding their gains after a positive start. Some encouraging earnings updates from top tech firms and data showing a slowdown in the annual rate of growth in consumer prices in the month of June aided sentiment.

The major averages all ended with strong gains, with the tech-laden Nasdaq outperforming others. The Dow ended with a gain of 176.55 points or 0.50 percent at 35,459.29. The S&P 500 advanced 44.82 points or 0.99 percent to settle at 4,582.23, while the Nasdaq climbed 266.55 points or 1.9 percent to 14,316.66.

The major European markets also finished the day slightly higher on Friday despite struggling for direction for much of the day's trading session. Germany's DAX climbed 0.39 percent, France's CAC 40 advanced 0.15 percent, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.02 percent.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Friday and the most active futures contract posted gains for the fifth straight week amid easing U.S. recession fears and on optimism over increased demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures for September added $0.49 or 0.6 percent at $80.58 a barrel. WTI crude futures gained 4.6 percent in the week.