Tracking cues from Wall Street, where stocks moved higher overnight on the back of an encouraging jobs report, the Japanese stock market is trading firm on Friday. A weaker yen is also contributing notably to the upmove.
As stocks across several sectors surged higher in early trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose to 10,207.9, hitting its best level in almost four months. The index is currently trading at 10,178, up 106.9 points or 1.1 percent over its previous close.
Real estate, financial, electric power, insurance and marine transport stocks are mostly trading in positive territory with notable gains. Paper, manufacturing, chemicals and non-ferrous metals stocks are exhibiting a slightly mixed trend.
Dentsu is up nearly 3.5 percent. Japan Tobacco, Sapporo Holdings, Mitsubishi Estate, Oki Electric, Dowa Holdings, Mitsui OSK Lines, Daikin, Fuji Heavy Industries, Dai-ichi Life, Tokyo Electric Power and Resona Holdings are up 2 to 3 percent.
Fast Retailing is trading near a 6-month high, extending its gains to a third successive session, on the back of a sharp surge in sales. Yahoo Japan, Konica Minolta, Fujifilm Holding, Inpex, Showa Denko KK, Fuji Electric, Nisshin Steel and Advantest are also trading notably higher.
In the banking space, Mizuho Trust & Banking, Mizuho Financial, Chiba Bank, Shinsei Bank and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are trading notably higher.
Among automobile stocks, Mitsubishi Motor is up nearly 3 percent, Suzuki Motor is gaining 2.2 percent, Toyota Motor is trading 1.8 percent up and Nissan Motor is up nearly 2 percent. Honda Motor and Mazda Motor are up 1.6 percent and 1.3 percent respectively.
Among the few losers in the Nikkei index, East Japan Railway and Tokai Carbon are down by over 1 percent. Shizuoka Bank, Nippon Sheet Glass and Kirin Holdings are trading modestly lower.
On the economic front, Japan posted a current account surplus of 590.7 billion yen in May, the Ministry of Finance said on Friday, down an annual 51.7 percent. That was significantly better than forecasts for a decline of 75.2 percent to 306.0 billion yen following the 69.5 percent contraction in April to 405.6 billion yen.
The trade balance showed a deficit of 772.7 billion yen, missing forecasts for a 764.0 billion yen shortfall following the 417.5 billion yen deficit in the previous month. Exports declined 9.8 percent on year to 4.539 trillion yen, while imports jumped an annual 14.7 percent to 5.311 trillion yen.
According to a report from Bank of Japan, bank lending in Japan was down 0.6 percent on year in June, standing at 391.996 trillion yen. That was in line with forecasts following the 0.8 percent decline in May.
Including trusts, bank lending was also down 0.6 percent on year to 454.204 trillion yen. That missed expectations for a 0.5 percent contraction following the downwardly revised 0.8 percent fall in the previous month. Lending from foreign banks plunged 33.0 percent on year to 2.837 trillion yen following the 33.8 percent annual contraction in May.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded at the lower 81 yen level in early deals in Tokyo. The yen is currently trading at 81.28 to the U.S. dollar.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan are trading notably higher, while Malaysia, New Zealand, Shanghai and South Korea are up marginally. Markets across the region closed on a mixed note on Thursday.
On Wall Street, stocks ended with solid gains on Thursday, as upbeat data offset some of the recent concerns about the strength of the labor market. A much bigger than expected rise in private sector employment in June and a decline in initial jobless claims in the week ended July 2 triggered strong buying in the session. An encouraging report on retail sales too aided the surge.
The Dow ended up 93.6 points or 0.8 percent at 12,719.6, the Nasdaq jumped 38.6 points or 1.4 percent to 2,872.7 and the S&P 500 moved up 14 points or 1.1 percent to 1,353.2.
Major European markets moved to the upside on Thursday. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index surged 0.9 percent, while the French CAC 40 index and the German DAX index both gained 0.5 percent.
Crude oil prices moved higher and hit a three-week high on Thursday on the back of stronger than expected data on U.S. jobless claims and retail sales. Light, sweet crude for August delivery ended up $2.02 or about 2 percent at $98.67 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
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.