Japanese Market Modestly Higher At Fresh 34-year Highs

(RTTNews) - Extending the sharp gains in the previous session, the Japanese stock market is modestly higher on Friday, following the marginally positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark Nikkei 225 is moving a tad above the 37,000 mark near 34-year highs, as traders continue to react to Bank of Japan's deputy governor Shinichi Uchida's comments that rapid rate hikes are unlikely even after ending negative rates.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is gaining 138.75 points or 0.38 percent to 37,002.03, after touching a fresh 34-year high of 37,287.26 earlier. Japanese stocks closed sharply higher on Thursday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is soaring almost 10 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging down 0.4 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing almost 1 percent and Toyota is also down almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is edging down 0.3 percent, while Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron are edging up 0.3 percent each.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging up 0.2 percent, while Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are edging down 0.1 percent each.

Among major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is gaining almost 1 percent, while Panasonic and Canon are edging up 0.1 to 0.3 percent each. Sony is edging down 0.1 percent.

Among other major gainers, Fujikura is skyrocketing almost 24 percent, Nitori Holdings is soaring more than 8 percent, Renesas Electronics is surging almost 7 percent and Furukawa Electric is gaining almost 6 percent, while Kuraray and Taiheiyo Cement are adding almost 5 percent each. Japan Exchange Group is advancing more than 4 percent and Yokogawa Electric is rising more than 3 percent, while Sumitomo Pharma, Marui Group and M3 are up almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, NEXON is plummeting almost 6 percent, Nissan Motor is plunging more than 10 percent, Teijin is slipping almost 8 percent, Nikon in losing almost 6 percent and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha is down more than 5 percent, while Taisei, Toray Industries, Nippon Yusen K.K. and FUJIFILM are declining almost 4 percent each. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Odakyu Electric Railway and Taiyo Yuden are sliding more than 3 percent each, while Suzuki Motor, Hitachi Zosen and Amada are down almost 3 percent each.

In economic news, the M2 money stock in Japan was up 2.4 percent on year in January, the Bank of Japan said on Friday - coming in at 1,242.9 trillion yen. That exceeded expectations for an increase of 2.2 percent and was up from 2.4 percent in December.

The M3 money stock rose 1.8 percent to 1,598.0 trillion yen and M1 jumped an annual 3.9 percent to 1,085.4 trillion yen. The L money stock added 2.2 percent on year to 2,124.6 trillion yen.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 149 yen-range on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Thursday following the strong upward move seen over the course of the previous session. Despite the choppy trading, the S&P 500 and the Dow reached new record closing highs.

The major averages all finished the day modestly higher. The Dow inched up 48.97 points or 0.1 percent to 38,726.33, the Nasdaq rose 37.07 points or 0.2 percent to 15,793.71 and the S&P 500 inched up 2.85 points or 0.1 percent to 4,997.91.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned mixed on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.4 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.8 percent.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Thursday, gaining for a fourth straight session as escalating tensions in the Middle East raised concerns about potential trade and supply disruptions. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended higher by $2.36 or 2.1 percent at $76.22 a barrel.