Japanese Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - Adding to the gains in the previous session, the Japanese stock market is modestly higher on Tuesday, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 37,500 level, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, with gains in financial stocks partially offset by losses in Index heavyweights.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 91.03 points or 0.24 percent at 37,529.64, after touching a high of 37,817.78 earlier. Japanese shares ended significantly higher on Monday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is flat, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing almost 1 percent and Toyota is edging down 0.5 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is edging down 0.2 percent and Tokyo Electron is losing almost 1 percent, while Screen Holdings is edging up 0.2 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is gaining almost 1 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are edging up 0.1 to 0.4 percent each.

The major exporters are mostly weak. Panasonic and Sony are losing almost 1 percent each, while Mitsubishi Electric is declining more than 1 percent. Canon is edging up 0.1 percent. Among the other major gainers, Osaka Gas is gaining almost 4 percent.

Conversely, Socionext is losing more than 5 percent, Lasertec is declining more than 4 percent and Denso is down almost 3 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 154 yen-range on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks climbed higher on Monday with those from the technology sector turning in a fine performance, as traders indulged in some bargain hunting after recent losses. Easing worries about Middle East tensions helped underpin sentiment.

The major averages all closed on a firm note. The Dow ended with a gain of 253.78 points or 0.67 percent at 38,239.98, the S&P 500 settled at 5,010.60, gaining 43.37 points or 0.87 percent, while the Nasdaq ended higher by 169.30 points or 1.11 percent at 15,451.31.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index shot up by 1.62 percent, the German DAX Index climbed 0.7 percent and the French CAC 40 Index ended up by 0.22 percent.

Crude oil prices drifted lower on Monday on concerns about the outlook for global oil demand, while recent data showing a sharp jump in U.S. crude inventories also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May fell $0.29 or 0.34 percent at $82.85 a barrel.