Japan Stock Market May Add To Its Winnings On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market bounced higher again on Tuesday, one day after ending the three-day winning streak in which it had gained almost 550 points or 1.4 percent. The Nikkei 225 now sits just beneath the 38,800-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing concerns of a trade war. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Nikkei finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.

For the day, the index improved 378.28 points or 0.72 percent to finish at 38,798.37 after trading between 38,590.96 and 39,192.51.

Among the actives, Nissan Motor gained 0.74 percent, while Mazda Motor surged 4.89 percent, Toyota Motor accelerated 1.72 percent, Honda Motor climbed 1.06 percent, Softbank Group collected 0.74 percent, Mitsubishi Financial UFJ improved 0.80 percent, Mizuho Financial shed 0.49 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial added 0.72 percent, Sony Group spiked 2.81 percent, Panasonic perked 0.10 percent and Hitachi rallied 2.76 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday but trended upward throughout the session to finish solidly in the green and at session highs.

The Dow climbed 134.13 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 44,556.04, while the NASDAQ rallied 262.06 points or 1.35 percent to close at 19,654.02 and the S&P 500 gained 43.31 points or 0.72 percent to end at 6,037.88.

The strength on Wall Street partly reflected easing concerns about a global trade war after President Donald Trump agreed to pause 25 percent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada for a month.

Positive sentiment was also generated in reaction to a report from the Labor Department showing job openings in the U.S. fell by much more than expected in December.

The data led to some optimism about the outlook for interest rates ahead of the release of the Labor Department's more closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

Oil prices fell on Tuesday as Trump agreed to postpone levies on Canada and Mexico's exports to the United States. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March settled at $72.70 a barrel, down $0.46 or about $0.63 percent.

Closer to home, Japan will provide December figures for average cash earnings later today, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 3.8 percent on year - up from 3.0 percent in November.