Japan Stock Market May See Continued Strength

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market has finished higher in three straight sessions, collecting almost 1,700 points or 2.4 percent along the way. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 68,300-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The Nikkei finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares, properties, technology companies and textiles.

For the day, the index climbed 784.53 points or 1.16 percent to finish at 68,308.59 after trading between 68,006.17 and 68,799.71.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened higher on Thursday, faded midday but then rebounded into the close to end in the green.

The Dow gained 69.72 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 53,839.99, while the NASDAQ jumped 214.54 points or 0.81 percent to end at 26,803.03 and the S&P 500 added 50.49 points or 0.65 percent to close at 7,798.99.

The strength on Wall Street came after the Labor Department reported that producer prices in the U.S. unexpectedly were flat in July.

Combined with Wednesday's report showing only a slight uptick in consumer prices and last Friday's report showing an unexpected decrease in jobs, the data added to optimism about the outlook for interest rates.

According to CME Group's FedWatch Tool, the chances the Federal Reserve raised rates by a quarter point at its next meeting in September have fallen to 34.6 percent from 55.0 percent a week ago.

Crude oil prices slumped on Thursday following reports from energy agencies indicating that global oil demand is set to fall more heavily than expected. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was down $1.76 or 2.11 percent at $81.51 per barrel.