The Japanese stock market is trading higher on Thursday with investors tracking overnight gains on Wall Street and indulging in some strong buying in several front line stocks. A pause in the yen's rise also contributed to the buoyant mood.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which rose to 9,083.4 in early trades, is currently up 105 points or 1.2% at 9,032.
Machinery, steel, non-ferrous metals, glass & ceramics and real estate are mostly up with notable gains. Electric power, gas, retail and textile stocks are trading mixed. Bank and automobile stocks are also exhibiting a mixed trend.
Fuji Heavy Industries, the biggest gainer in the Nikkei index, is up nearly 4.5%. Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Fujikura and Taiyo Yuden are also up by over 4%.
GS Yuasa, Sumitomo Metal Mining, Denso Corp., Konica Minolta, Tokai Carbon, Mitsui OSK Lines, Inpex Corp., Trend Micro, Bridgestone Corp., Nippon Express and Yokohama Rubber are also trading sharply higher. Canon Inc., Advantest, Sony and Casio Computer too are up with notable gains.
Honda Motor, Nissan Motor, Hino Motors, Isuzu Motors, Mitsubishi Motor and Suzuki Motor are up with notable gains, while Mazda Motor and Toyota Motor are trading weak.
Among bank stocks, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Trust & Banking are trading marginally lower, while Mizuho Trust & Banking, Chiba Bank, Bank of Yokohama and Mizuho Financial are up in positive territory.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded at mid-84 yen level in early deals in Tokyo. The yen is currently trading at 84.38 to the U.S. dollar.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia, Shanghai, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan are up with notable gains. Malaysia and South Korea are also trading firm. Markets across the region ended with notable gains on Wednesday.
On Wall Street, stocks saw substantial gains on Wednesday, as data showing a pickup in manufacturing activity in both the U.S. and China recharged some hopes of a continued economic recovery. The rally was further fueled by a better than expected reading on resource-linked Australian GDP.
The major averages ended near their best levels of the day. The Dow shot up by 254.8 points or 2.5% to 10,269.5, the Nasdaq surged by 62.8 points or 3% to 2,176.8 and the S&P 500 advanced by 31 points or 3% to 1,080.3.
Major European markets ended sharply higher on Wednesday. The French CAC 40 index ended up 3.8%, while the German DAX index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index both jumped by 2.7%.
Crude oil prices sailed higher on Wednesday as improvement in the U.S. manufacturing industry eased some fears about the strength of the global recovery. Light, sweet crude for October delivery rose US$1.99 or 2.8% to close at US$73.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.