Japanese Market Significantly Higher

TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market is trading significantly higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving well above the 70,650 level, with gains in technology and financial st…

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 620.08 or 0.89 percent at 70,682.40, after touching a high of 71,962.34 earlier. Japanese stocks ended significantly higher on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining almost 2 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging down 0.3 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging down 0.4 percent, while Toyota is edging up 0.2 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is adding almost 1 percent and Tokyo Electron is gaining more than 1 percent, while Screen Holdings is jumping more than 7 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, Mizuho Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are all gaining more than 1 percent each.

Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is gaining almost 2 percent and Panasonic is advancing almost 4 percent, while Canon and Sony are edging down 0.3 percent each.

Among other major gainers, Taiyo Yuden is skyrocketing more than 13 percent, Sumco is soaring more than 11 percent and Ibiden is jumping almost 11 percent, while Kyocera and Disco are advancing more than 6 percent each. Socionext and Ajinomoto are gaining more than 5 percent each, while Resonac Holdings, Lasertec and Renesas Electronics are adding almost 5 percent each. Murata Manufacturing, Yaskawa Electric and Fuji Electric are up almost 4 percent each.

Conversely, J. Front Retailing is tumbling more than 8 percent, while Furukawa Electric and SHIFT are declining more than 6 percent each. Nitori Holdings, Sharp and Sapporo Holdings are losing more than 4 percent each, while Mitsubishi Estate and Tokyo Electric Power are slipping almost 4 percent each. Kikkoman and Tokyo Gas are down more than 3 percent each, while Aeon, Pan Pacific International, Osaka Gas and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines are losing almost 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 162 yen-range on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks saw further upside during trading on Tuesday following the rally seen over the course of Monday's session. The major averages all moved higher on the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq extending yesterday's surge.

The Nasdaq shot up 393.58 points or 1.5 percent to 26,213.72, further offsetting the steep drop seen last week. The S&P 500 also advanced 58.93 points or 0.8 percent to 7,499.36, while the narrower Dow posted a more modest gain, rising 136.46 points or 0.3 percent to a new record closing high of 52,319.20.

The major European markets all also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index jumped by 1.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.1 percent.

Crude oil prices slumped amid conflicting messages about a new round of talks between the U.S. and Iran. While President Donald Trump claimed a meeting is set to be held in Qatar, a spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry reportedly denied that talks were scheduled.