Nikkei Poised To Add To Its Winnings On Monday

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market has climbed higher in four straight sessions, advancing more than 1,600 points or 3.1 percent along the way. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 50,250-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The Nikkei finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the financials and mixed performances from the technology stocks and automobile producers.

For the day, the index gained 86.81 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 50,253.91 after trading between 49,989.54 and 50,258.25. Among the actives, Nissan Motor rallied 1.32 percent, while Mazda Motor added 0.44 percent, Toyota Motor dipped 0.16 percent, Honda Motor advanced 0.93 percent, Softbank Group and Mitsubishi Electric both eased 0.09 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial collected 0.35 percent, Mizuho Financial rose 0.27 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial gained 0.49 percent, Sony Group fell 0.17 percent, Panasonic Holdings jumped 1.45 percent and Hitachi was up 0.20 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Friday and remained in the green throughout the day for a fifth straight session.

The Dow jumped 289.30 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 47,716.42, while the NASDAQ rallied 151.00 points or 0.65 percent to end at 23,365.69 and the S&P 500 climbed 36.48 points or 0.54 percent to close at 6,849.09.

For the holiday-shortened week, the NASDAQ spiked 4.9 percent, the S&P 500 jumped 3.7 percent and the Dow climbed 3.2 percent.

Renewed optimism about the outlook for interest rates has contributed to the recent rebound following dovish comments from leading Federal Reserve officials. CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating an 86.9 percent chance the central bank will cut rates by another quarter point at its December meeting.

Trading activity remained somewhat subdued, however, as some traders remained away from their desks following the Thanksgiving holiday.

Crude oil prices edged higher on Friday a proposed peace deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war remains in limbo. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was up $0.18 or 0.31 percent at $58.83 per barrel.