Swinging between gains and losses, the Japanese stock market is trading notably higher on Tuesday, with investors mostly tracking the yen's movements against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which tumbled to 13,006 after rising to around 13,140 in early trades, is currently up 41.8 points or 0.3 percent at 12,991.3.
Hino Motors, Meidensha Corp., Mitsui OSK Lines, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Showa Shell Sekiyu KK, Sony Corp. (SNE) and Tokyo Tatemono are up 4 to 6 percent.
Advantest Corp. (ATE) is up nearly 4 percent. T&D Holdings, JFE Holdings, Kansai Electric Power, Nomura Holdings, Inpex Corp., Daiwa Securities Group, Chubu Electric Power and Fuji Heavy Industries are all trading higher by 2 to 3.7 percent.
Seven & I Holdings shares are up sharply on a likely jump in operating profit for the March - May quarter. Fujifilm Holdings, Yokohama Rubber, JX Holdings, Sharp Corp., Mazda Motor, Toyota Motor (TM), Shinsei Bank, Softbank Corp. and Heiwa Real Estate are also trading sharply higher.
Meanwhile, Nippon Suisan Kaisha, Chiyoda Corp., Toho Co., Mitsui Mining & Smelting, Tokyo Gas and Bank of Yokohama are trading weak, losing 2 to 3 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the mid-94 yen range in early deals in Tokyo. The yen is currently trading at 94.84 to the U.S. dollar.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea are trading notably higher, while Shanghai is up marginally. Australia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan are trading weak.
On Wall Street, stocks ended mostly higher on Monday, despite lingering worries about the outlook for the Federal Reserve's stimulus program. The early strength came on the heels of the release of some upbeat economic data, including a report from the National Association of Home Builders that showed homebuilder confidence jumped to a seven-year high in June.
The major averages finished the session well off their best levels of the day but still posted strong gains. The Dow jumped 109.7 points or 0.7 percent to 15,179.9, the Nasdaq advanced 28.6 points or 0.8 percent to 3,452.1 and the S&P 500 climbed 12.3 points or 0.8 percent to 1,639.
Major European markets too closed higher on Monday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index moved up 0.4 percent, the German DAX index and the French CAC 40 index gained 1.1 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.
U.S. crude oil snapped a three-day gain to end lower on Monday, after having trended higher for most of the day amid concerns over supply disruptions following geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Unconfirmed news reports on the Federal Reserve cutting back on its quantitative easing program dragged down oil prices.
Crude for July delivery ended down $0.08 or 0.1 percent at $97.77 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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