Buoyed by the overnight strong close on Wall Street on the back of some encouraging economic data, the Japanese market opened on an upbeat note on Thursday with investors indulging in some hectic buying across the board.
Steel, non-ferrous metals, foods, precision instruments, automobile and financial stocks are mostly trading higher. Stocks from retail and services sectors are also seeing some strong buying.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which rose to 8,852 following a bright start, is currently trading at 8,829.6, up 99.1 points or 1.1 percent from its previous close.
Unitika Ltd shares are up more than 4.5 percent. Chubu Electric Power, NTT Data Corp, Ebara Corp, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings, Japan Tobacco and Dai-ichi Life Insurance are trading higher by 3 to 3.5 percent.
Tokio Marine, Credit Saison, Mitsubishi Estate, Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Nisshin Steel, Kansai Electric Power, Panasonic Corp, Terumo Corp, Isuzu Motors, Nippon Sheet Glass, JFE Holdings and Fujifilm Holdings Corp are also trading sharply higher.
In the banking space, Mizuho Financial, Bank of Yokohama, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Aozora Bank, SMFG, Chiba Bank and Shizuoka Bank are up 1.5 to 3 percent.
Eisai Co. shares are up nearly 2.5 percent on reports the company has won approval for its weight-loss drug from the USFDA.
Shares of Nitori Holdings Inc. moved up sharply following an announcement from the company that its net profit rose 26 percent in the March-May 2012 quarter.
Meanwhile, Chiyoda Corp, Pioneer Corp, Taisei Corp, Mitsubishi Motors, Showa Denko KK, Sumitomo Osaka Cement, Mitsumi Electric and Nippon Light Metal are trading in negative territory, losing 1 to 2.5 percent from their previous closing prices.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the upper 79 yen range in early deals in Tokyo. The yen is currently trading at 79.50 to the dollar.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia, Hong Kong and Taiwan are trading notably higher. Shanghai, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea are also trading firm, while Malaysia is down marginally. Markets across the region ended higher on Wednesday.
On Wall Street, stocks ended higher on Wednesday, as traders reacted positively to a batch of relatively upbeat U.S. economic data. Much of the strength on Wall Street stemmed from the release of separate reports showing bigger than expected increases in durable goods orders and pending home sales.
The major averages ended the day firmly in positive territory, not far off their highs for the session. The Dow rose 92.3 points or 0.7 percent to 12,627, the Nasdaq climbed 21.3 points or 0.7 percent to 2,875.3 and the S&P 500 advanced 11.9 points or 0.9 percent to 1,331.9.
Major European markets too ended on a buoyant note on Wednesday. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index jumped 1.4 percent, while the German DAX index and the French CAC 40 index soared 1.5 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.
U.S. crude oil futures ended higher on Wednesday, on some positive economic data and an Energy Information Administration report that showed U.S. oil stockpiles to have declined, although lesser than expected.
Crude for August delivery gained $0.85 or 1.1 percent to close at $80.21 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.