Japanese Market Sharply Higher; Up 1.6%

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is sharply higher on Monday, recouping the losses in the previous session, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 32,100 level, following the positive cues from global markets on Friday, with gains across most sectors, led by technology and financial stocks. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 498.92 or 1.58 percent at 32,123.20, after touching a high of 32,133.28 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply lower on Friday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining almost 1 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is advancing more than 2 percent and Toyota is adding almost 2 percent.

In the tech space, Screen Holdings is gaining almost 4 percent, Advantest is adding almost 1 percent and Tokyo Electron is up more than 1 percent. In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is gaining almost 1 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is adding more than 1 percent and Mizuho Financial is advancing almost 2 percent.

The major exporters are higher. Canon is edging up 0.3 percent, Panasonic is gaining almost 1 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is adding more than 3 percent and Sony is up almost 1 percent.

Among other major gainers, Amada is gaining almost 5 percent, while Daikin Industries and Furukawa Electric are adding more than 4 percent each. Renesas Electronics is up almost 4 percent, while Nippon Sheet Glass, Idemitsu Kosan, Kubota and Yaskawa Electric are advancing more than 3 percent each. SMC, Tokio Marine, Terumo, Mazda Motor and Kikkoman are rising almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Isetan Mitsukoshi is losing almost 6 percent, while Takashimaya and J. Front Retailing are declining more than 5 percent each. Shiseido is down almost 3 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the mid-146 yen-range on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks started off on a firm note on Friday and despite suffering a setback around mid-morning, recovered swiftly and stayed firm right till the end of the day's session to finish on a strong note. Investors reacted positively to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks at the Jackson Hole Symposium.

The major averages all closed on a firm note, with the tech-laden Nasdaq outperforming the other indexes. The Dow settled with a gain of 247.48 points or 0.73 percent at 34,346.90, the S&P 500 climbed 29.40 points or 0.67 percent to settle at 4,405.71 and the Nasdaq closed with a gain of 126.67 points or 0.94 percent at 13,590.65.

The major European markets showed notable moves to the upside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE and Germany's DAX both ended up by 0.07 percent, and France's CAC 40 gained 0.21 percent.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Friday, despite some disappointing economic data from Germany and a fairly strong U.S. dollar, amid tightening supply due to production cuts from OPEC and its major allies. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended higher by $0.78 or about 1 percent at $79.83 a barrel.