Japan Shares May Be Stuck In Neutral On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting almost 110 points or 0.3 percent along the way. The Nikkei 225 now rests just above the 35,725-point plateau although the rally may stall on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative after U.S. President Donald Trump outlined his plan to impose sweeping tariffs on U.S. trade partners. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the former lead.

The Nikkei finished modestly higher on Wednesday as gains from the automobile producers and technology stocks were dented by weakness from the financial sector.

For the day, the index added 101.39 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 35,725.87 after trading between 35,426.33 and 35,778.90.

Among the actives, Nissan Motor rose 0.24 percent, while Mazda Motor improved 1.23 percent, Toyota Motor gained 0.97 percent, Honda Motor climbed 1.19 percent, Softbank Group fell 0.37 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial declined 1.53 percent, Mizuho Financial dropped 0.94 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial retreated 1.68 percent, Mitsubishi Electric jumped 1.93 percent, Sony Group tumbled 1.99 percent, Panasonic Holdings added 0.40 percent and Hitachi advanced 0.84 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages shook off a soft open on Wednesday and tracked generally higher throughout the session.

The Dow jumped 235.36 points or 0.56 percent to finish at 42,225.32, while the NASDAQ advanced 151.16 points or 0.87 percent to close at 17,601.05 and the S&P 500 improved 37.90 points or 0.67 percent to end at 5,670.97.

The early weakness on Wall Street came amid concerns about the impact of Trump's reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trade partners.

However, traders then saw the early slump as an opportunity to pick up stocks at reduced levels, leading to the subsequent rebound.

In U.S. economic news, payroll processor ADP said private sector employment in the U.S. increased more than expected in March. Also, the Commerce Department said factory orders increased more than anticipated in February.

Crude oil prices ticked higher again on Wednesday, despite data showing an unexpected increase by U.S. crude oil inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery rose $0.51 or 0.7 percent to $71.71 a barrel.