Japanese Market Notably Higher

(RTTNews) - The Japanese market is trading notably higher on Thursday, extending the gains in the previous session, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving above the 57,550 level, with gains across most sectors led by financial and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 423.22 points or 0.74 percent to 57,567.06, after touching a high of 57,642.08 earlier. Japanese shares ended significantly higher on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging down 0.3 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.2 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is edging up 0.3 percent and Honda is flat.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 3 percent, Screen Holdings is adding almost 4 percent and Tokyo Electron is advancing more than 4 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is adding almost 1 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is gaining more than 2 percent and Mizuho Financial is advancing almost 3 percent.

Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is gaining more than 1 percent and Panasonic is adding more than 2 percent, while Sony is losing almost 1 percent and Canon is declining almost 2 percent.

Among other major gainers, GS Yuasa is jumping more than 8 percent, Japan Steel Works is surging almost 6 percent and Sumitomo Chemical is advancing more than 5 percent, while Sumitomo Electric Industries and Disco are up more than 4 percent each. Trend Micro and Sumco are gaining almost 4 percent each, while Mitsui Kinzoku, Resonac Holdings and Hitachi are advancing more than 3 percent each. Central Japan Railway and Fujikura are adding almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, FUJIFILM Holdings is losing more than 4 percent, Nissan Motor is declining more than 3 percent and Toto is down almost 3 percent.

In economic news, the value of core machinery orders in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 19.1 percent on month in December, the Cabinet Office said on Thursday - coming in at 1,052.5 billion yen. That beat forecasts for an increase of 5.1 percent following the 11.0 percent contraction in November.

On a yearly basis, orders jumped 16.8 percent - again exceeding expectations for a gain of 3.9 percent after sinking 6.4 percent in the previous month. For the fourth quarter of 2025, orders were up 7.9 percent on quarter and 8.1 percent on year. For the first quarter of 2026, orders are seen lower by 4.5 percent on quarter but up 2.2 percent on year. Total orders surged 23.8 percent on month and 40.1 percent on year to 4,148.1 billion yen.

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

On Wall Street, stocks showed a strong move to the upside in early trading on Wednesday before giving back some ground over the course of the session. The major averages pulled back well off their highs of the session but managed to end the day firmly in positive territory.

Adding to the modest gains posted during Tuesday's session, the Nasdaq advanced 175.25 points or 0.8 percent to 22,753.63, the S&P 500 climbed 38.09 points or 0.6 percent to 6,881.31 and the Dow rose 129.47 points or 0.3 percent to 49,662.66.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index surged 1.2 percent, the German DAX Index shot up 1.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.8 percent.

Crude oil prices skyrocketed on Wednesday after reports that Iran failed to address core U.S. demands in nuclear talks earlier this week. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery soared $2.73 or 4.4 percent to $64.99 a barrel.