Japanese Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is modestly higher on Thursday, snapping the five-session losing streak, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 28,400 level, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders indulged in picking up stocks at a bargain after the recent weakness in the market.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 136.29 points or 0.48 percent to 28,449.76, after touching a high of 28,486.01 earlier. Japanese stocks closed modestly lower on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging up 0.5 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.3 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging down 0.4 percent, while Toyota is edging up 0.2 percent.

In the tech space, Screen Holdings is gaining more than 1 percent, Tokyo Electron is adding almost 1 percent and Advantest is flat.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are edging up 0.4 percent each, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging down 0.1 percent.

Among the major exporters, Canon and Mitsubishi Electric are edging up 0.2 to 0.5 percent, while Sony is edging down 0.3 percent. Panasonic is flat.

Among the other major gainers, Japan Steel Works and Unitika are surging almost 6 percent each, while Daiichi Sankyo is gaining almost 5 percent. Fujikura is adding more than 3 percent, while NEXON and IHI are up almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, there are no major losers.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 136 yen-range on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks saw a choppy ride on Wednesday but the Dow and the S&P 500 still managed to snap a three-day losing streak and close on a positive note. The mood was cautious as investors looked ahead to Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the central bank's economic symposium at Jackson Hole, Wyoming on Friday, for clues about the bank's outlook for the economy and interest rates.

Among rhe major averages, the Dow ended with a gain of 59.64 points or 0.18 percent at 32,969.23. The S&P 500 settled at 4,140.77, gaining 12.04 points or 0.29 percent, while the Nasdaq advanced 50.23 points or 0.41 percent to 12,431.53.

Meanwhile, the major European markets were mixed on the day. While the Germany's DAX advanced 0.2 percent and France's CAC 40 climbed 0.39 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 drifted down 0.22 percent.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday, supported by data showed a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week, as well as news that OPEC may cut production to support prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September climbed $1.15 or 1.2 percent at $94.89 a barrel.