The Japanese stock market is trading notably higher on Monday, reversing some of the sharp losses in the previous session, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street on Friday, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 58,900 level, with gains across most sectors led by index heavyweights, automakers and financial stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 435.49 points or 0.74 percent at 58,911.39, after touching a high of 59,012.12 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply lower on Friday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 3 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is advancing more than 2 percent and Toyota is gaining almost 2 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is losing almost 1 percent, while Screen Holdings is advancing almost 3 percent and Tokyo Electron is gaining more than 1 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging up 0.5 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are gaining almost 1 percent each.
The major exporters are higher. Mitsubishi Electric is gaining more than 3 percent, while Sony and Canon are edging up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each. Panasonic is flat.
Among the other major gainers, Chugai Pharmaceutical is surging almost 6 percent, while Lasertec, Minebea Mitsumi, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Renesas Electronics are advancing almost 5 percent each. Yaskawa Electric is gaining more than 4 percent, while Ebara, BayCurrent and Tokio Marine are adding almost 4 percent each. Nissan Motor, NSK and Komatsu are rising more than 3 percent each, while Yokohama Rubber and Sumitomo Electric Industries are up almost 3 percent each.
Conversely, Sumitomo Pharma, JGC Holdings and Tokyo Gas are sliding almost 4 percent each, while TDK and Ryohin Keikaku are losing more than 3 percent each. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, ENEOS Holdings and Trend Micro are declining almost 3 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 158 yen-range on Monday.
On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply higher during trading on Friday extending the strong upward move seen over the past several sessions. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 once again reached new record closing highs, while the Dow reached its best closing level in almost two months.
The major averages ended the day off their highs of the session but still posted strong gains. The Dow surged 868.71 points or 1.8 percent to 49,447.43, the Nasdaq shot up 365.78 points or 1.5 percent to 24,468.48 and the S&P 500 jumped 84.78 points or 1.2 percent to 7,126.06.
The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index surged by 2.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.7 percent.
Crude oil prices nosedived on Friday amid easing supply-related concerns on news of the temporary reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was down $11.17 or 10.58 percent at $84.11 per barrel.
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Market Analysis
April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.