(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is modestly higher on Thursday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 staying just below the 27,700 level, following the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, as technology stocks mirrored their peers on tech-heavy Nasdaq and as traders digested some corporate earnings news.
However, the upside was limited amid continued concerns about the sharp spike in domestic new coronavirus infections, with daily new COVID-19 cases in Japan topping the 1,00,000 mark for the first time since Saturday and pushing hospitals and clinics to breaking point. The daily new cases also hit record highs each day since last two weeks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is gaining 92.10 points or 0.33 percent to 27,671.97, after touching a high of 27,880.70 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply higher on Wednesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 3 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging down 0.3 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is losing almost 4 percent, while Honda is gaining almost 6 percent. In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 3 percent, Screen Holdings is adding 1.5 percent and Tokyo Electron is rising more than 1 percent.
In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial is edging down 0.2 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is down more than 1 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing almost 2 percent.
The major exporters are mixed. Sony is gaining almost 2 percent, while Canon and Mitsubishi Electric are adding almost 1 percent each. Panasonic is edging down 0.2 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Shiseido and Sumco are gaining more than 5 percent each, while Tokai Carbon and Fujikura are adding more than 4 percent each. Nissan Chemical, Denka, DeNA and CyberAgent are rising more than 3 percent each.
Conversely, Yamato Holdings is plunging more than 13 percent and Mitsui E&S Holdings is declining more than 6 percent, while Terumo and Mitsubishi Materials are sliding more than 3 percent each.
In economic news, producer prices in Japan were up 8.6 percent on year in January, the Bank of Japan said on Thursday - exceeding expectations for 8.2 percent and up from 8.5 percent in December. On a monthly basis, producer prices climbed 0.6 percent - again topping forecasts for 0.4 percent following the 0.2 percent decline in the previous month.
Export prices were down 0.2 percent on month and up 6.6 percent on year after falling 0.7 percent on month and climbing 8.0 percent on year a month earlier. Import prices fell 0.9 percent on month and surged 28.0 percent on year after rising 0.2 percent on month and 33.8 percent on year in December.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the mid-115 yen-range on Thursday.
On Wall Street, stocks showed a strong move to the upside during trading on Wednesday, extending the rally seen in the previous session. The major averages all moved notably higher, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq helping to lead the advance.
The Nasdaq reached a new high for the session going into the close, spiking 295.92 points or 2.1 percent to 14,490.37. The S&P 500 also surged up 65.64 points or 1.5 percent to 4,587.18, while the Dow jumped 305.28 points or 0.9 percent to 35,768.06.
The major European markets also showed strong moves to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index jumped by 1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index surged up by 1.5 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.
Crude oil prices moved higher Wednesday after data showed a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended higher by $0.30 or 0.3 percent at $89.66 a barrel.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
