The Japanese stock market opened lower on Monday, with a stronger yen and Friday's weak close on Wall Street triggering some selling in early trades. However, following the dollar's rebound against the yen, the market bounced back smartly and is currently trading in positive territory with solid gains.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which plunged to around 12,550 in early trades, is currently trading at 12,796.8, up 110.3 points or 0.8 percent from its previous close.
Denso Corp. is up nearly 9 percent. Sumitomo Osaka Cement, Chiyoda Corp., Tokuyama Corp., Japan Tobacco, Nippon Express, Keisei Electric Railway, MS&AD Insurance Group, West Japan Railway and Konica Minolta are trading higher by 4 to 5 percent.
Taiheiyo Cement, Furukawa, Bridgestone Corp., Kansai Electric Power, Chubu Electric Power, Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding, Toyo Seikan Group, Tobu Railway, Yokohama Rubber and Pacific Metals are all trading higher by 2.5 to 3.7 percent.
Panasonic Corp. (PC), Fujifilm Holdings, Sony Financial Holdings, Central Japan Railway, Japan Steel Works, Pacific Metals, JFE Holdings and Aozora Bank are also up sharply.
Among the losers, Tokyo Tatemono is down 4.2 percent, Tokyu Land, Mitsui Fudosan, Sumitomo Realty & Development, Hewia Real Estate and Fast Retailing are trading lower by 2 to 3 percent, and Casio Computer, Trend Micro, Hitachi and Konamic Corp. are down 1 to 1.8 percent.
On the economic front, an index measuring tertiary industry activity in Japan was flat on month in April, at a seasonally adjusted 99.7, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Monday. That missed forecasts for a gain of 0.2 percent following the upwardly revised decline of 0.9 percent in March (originally -1.3 percent).
Industries that saw an increase in activity included finance, scientific research, health care, communications and utilities. Industries that saw a decline in activity included retail trade, transportation, amusement services, real estate, accommodations and learning support.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the lower 94 yen range in early deals in Tokyo. The yen is currently trading at 94.73 to the U.S. dollar.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan are trading modestly higher. Shanghai, Malaysia, New Zealand and South Korea are up marginally, while Australia is trading weak.
On Wall Street, stocks ended weak on Friday, with investors reacting to a disappointing report on industrial production in May and an unexpected deterioration in consumer sentiment in June. The lowering of U.S. economic growth forecast by the International Monetary Fund too weighed on sentiment.
The Dow ended the day down 105.9 points or 0.7 percent at 15,070.2, the Nasdaq dropped 21.8 points or 0.6 percent to 3,423.6 and the S&P 500 slipped 9.6 points or 0.6 percent to 1,626.7.
Major European markets ended higher on Friday. While the German DAX index advanced by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index edged up by 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively.
U.S. crude oil ended sharply higher for a third straight session on Friday, with increased tensions in the Middle East fuelling supply concerns after the U.S. administration indicated it would arm the Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
Crude for July delivery jumped $1.16 or 1.2 percent to close at $97.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com