The Japanese market is trading sharply higher on Thursday, snapping a five-session losing streak, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving well above the 61,850 level, with gains across most sectors led by financial and technology stocks.
The markets were boosted by optimism about an imminent peace deal between the US and Iran after US President Trump said the US was in the final stages of negotiations with Iran. This fueled hopes that the strategically important Strait of Hormuz could soon reopen. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 2,077.97 points or 3.47 percent to 61,882.38, after touching a high of 62,950.07 earlier. Japanese stocks ended sharply lower on Wednesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is skyrocketing almost 20 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging down 0.1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is gaining more than 2 percent and Honda is advancing almost 3 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 3 percent, Tokyo Electron is advancing almost 6 percent and Screen Holdings is adding almost 3 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is advancing more than 3 percent, Mizuho Financial is adding more than 4 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is gaining almost 3 percent.
Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric and Panasonic are surging almost 5 percent each, while Canon is edging up 0.3 percent. Sony is down more than 1 percent.
Among other major gainers, Socionext is skyrocketing more than 13 percent and Ibiden is soaring almost 12 percent, while TDK, Murata Manufacturing and Fuji Electric are jumping more than 8 percent each. Yaskawa Electric, Renesas Electronics and Lasertec are surging almost 8 percent each, while Resonac Holdings and Disco are advancing almost 7 percent each. Mitsui Kinzoku and Tokuyama are gaining almost 6 percent each, while IHI is adding more than 5 percent.
Conversely, Sompo Holdings is tumbling more than 7 percent and Japan Steel Works is declining more than 3 percent, while Nintendo, BANDAI NAMCO, Konami Group and Toho are losing almost 3 percent each.
In economic news, the value of core machinery orders in Japan was down a seasonally adjusted 9.4 percent on month in March, the Cabinet Office said on Thursday - coming in at 1,010.9 billion yen. That missed forecasts for a decline of 7.7 percent after jumping 13.6 percent in February. On a yearly basis, orders added 5.9 percent - beating expectations for a gain of 4.5 percent following the 24.7 percent spike in the previous month.
For the first quarter of 2026, orders were up 6.4 percent on quarter and 12.6 percent on year at 3,109.2 billion yen. For the second quarter, orders are expected to rise 0.3 percent on quarter and 8.5 percent on year.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance said Japan posted a merchandise trade surplus of 301.9 billion yen in April. That blew away forecasts for a deficit of 29.7 billion yen following the 643.0 billion yen surplus in March.
Exports were up 14.8 percent on year to 10.507 trillion yen, beating expectations for an increase of 9.3 percent and up from 11.5 percent in the previous month. Imports added an annual 9.7 percent versus expectations for a gain of 8.3 percent following the 10.9 percent increase a month earlier.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 158 yen-range on Thursday.
On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day on Wednesday, regaining ground after trending lower over the past few sessions. The major averages all showed strong moves to the upside on the day.
The major averages ended the day just off their highs of the session. The Nasdaq surged 399.65 points or 1.5 percent to 26,270.36, the Dow shot up 645.47 points or 1.3 percent to 50,009.35 and the S&P 500 jumped 79.36 points or 1.1 percent to 7,432.97.
The major European markets also showed strong moves to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index surged by 1.7 percent, the German DAX Index shot up by 1.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index jumped by 1 percent.
The sharp drop in crude oil prices also contributed to the rise on Wall Street, thanks to increasing diplomatic measures to secure an agreement to end their hostilities between the United States and Iran. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was down $5.89 or 5.66 percent at $98.26 per barrel.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis
May 15, 2026 15:25 ET Apart from the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair, the main news on the economics front this week included key price data from the U.S. and the first quarter economic growth figures from major economies. Both consumer prices and producer costs have started to reflect the effect of supply shocks due to the Middle East conflict. In Europe, GDP data was in focus, while inflation data from China dominated the news flow in Asia.