Japanese Market Significantly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is significantly higher on Tuesday as its catching up after Monday's holiday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 26,200 level, despite the weak cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains in heavyweight stocks and technology stocks, which mirrored their peers on Nasdaq.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 230.29 points or 0.89 percent at 26,204.14, after touching a high of 26,316.66 earlier. Japanese shares ended significantly higher on Friday ahead of the Coming of Age holiday on Monday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining almost 4 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is adding almost 1 percent and Toyota is edging up 0.1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 2 percent, while Tokyo Electron and Screen Holdings are adding more than 2 percent each.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing more than 1 percent and Mizuho Financial is edging down 0.3 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging up 0.3 percent.

The major exporters are mostly lower. Canon and Panasonic are edging down 0.4 to 0.5 percent each, while Mitsubishi Electric is losing almost 1 percent. Sony is edging up 0.4 percent. Among the other major gainers, Toto is soaring almost 8 percent. Daikin Industries is surging more than 5 percent, Eisai Co. is gaining almost 5 percent, SMC Corp. is adding more than 4 percent and Sumitomo Metal Mining is rising more than 3 percent, while Shin-Etsu Chemical, Yaskawa Electric and Taiyo Yuden are up almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Concordia Financial is losing almost 3 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 131 yen-range on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks failed to hold gains and ended on a mixed note on Monday as the mood turned cautious past mid-afternoon after some Fed officials said the central bank will have to keep raising rates. Stocks pared gains after comments from a couple of Fed officials that the central bank might raise rates to somewhere above 5 percent.

Among the major averages, the Dow ended down 112.96 points or 0.34 percent at 33,517.65 and the S&P 500 settled lower by 2.99 points or 0.08 percent at 3,892.09, while the Nasdaq settled with a gain of 66.36 points or 0.63 percent at 10,635.65.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.33 percent, Germany's DAX surged 1.25 percent, and France's CAC ended higher by 0.68 percent.

Crude oil prices climbed higher Monday, gaining for a third straight session amid hopes of increased demand - while a weak dollar also helped to support oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February rose $0.86 or 1.2 percent at $74.63 a barrel.