Japan Bourse May Break Through 40,000-Point Barrier

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting more than 230 points or 0.6 percent in that span. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 39,820-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is generally positive, with technology stocks likely to lead the way higher. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The Nikkei finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares and mixed performances from the technology stocks and automobile producers.

For the day, the index rose 132.47 points or 0.33 percent to finish at 39,821.28 after trading between 39,573.34 and 39,971.06.

Among the actives, Nissan Motor plunged 3.17 percent, while Mazda Motor accelerated 1.23 percent, Toyota Motor advanced 0.91 percent, Honda Motor soared 3,35 percent, Softbank Group collected 0.76 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial added 0.61 percent, Mizuho Financial climbed 0.97 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial improved 0.78 percent, Mitsubishi Electric jumped 1.63 percent, Panasonic Holdings fell 0.24 percent, Hitachi gained 0.86 percent and Sony Group was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and remained in the green throughout the session, ending with modest gains.

The Dow jumped 217.54 points or 0.49 percent to finish at 44,458.30, while the NASDAQ rallied 192.88 points or 0.94 percent to end at 20,611.34 and the S&P 500 added 37.74 points or 0.61 percent to close at 6,263.26.

The strength on Wall Street reflected optimism about a potential trade deal between the U.S. and the European Union.

Nvidia (NVDA) helped lead the markets higher, with the AI darling jumping by 1.8 percent and briefly becoming the first company to reach a market capitalization of $4 trillion.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve released the minutes of its June monetary policy meeting, which revealed most participants generally agree the central bank is well positioned to wait for more clarity on the outlook for inflation and the economy before adjusting interest rates.

Crude oil price inched higher on Wednesday, as Saudi projections for increased demand were offset by a jump in U.S. oil inventories. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery ticked higher by $0.05 to settle at $68.38 per barrel.

Closer to home, Japan will release June numbers for producer prices later this morning, with forecasts suggesting a dip 0.2 percent on month and a gain of 2.9 percent on year. That follows the 0.2 percent monthly contraction and the 3.2 percent yearly gain in May.