The Japanese stock market opened on a firm note on Thursday and the Nikkei 225 index rose above the 16,000 mark for the first time since January, as a weaker yen triggered some strong buying at several counters.
The Nikkei is up 178.7 points or 1.1 percent at 16,067.4.
Kubota Corp. is moving up 3.5 percent following a rating upgrade from Credit Suisse AG. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Taiyo Yuden, Ebara Corp., Alps Electric and Fuji Heavy Industries are also up more than 3 percent.
Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Yahoo Japan, Sumco Corp., Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Asahi Kasei Corp., Daiwa House Industry, Mazda Motor, Olympus Corp., Advantest Corp. (ATE), Shizuoka Bank, Honda Motor and Japan Steel Works are all up 2 to 3 percent.
Sony Corp. (SNE) shares are plunging nearly 11 percent after the company forecast a wider loss for the year.
Pioneer Corp. is declining 3.5 percent. Obayashi Corp., Kajima Corp., Toho Zinc, Japan Tobacco, GS Yuasa Corp., Showa Denko KK and Shiseido Co. are also lower by 0.7 to 1.7 percent.
In economic news, Japan had a merchandise trade deficit of 948.5 billion yen in August, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday. That beat forecasts for a shortfall of 1,028.9 billion yen following the 962.1 billion yen deficit in July.
Exports fell 1.3 percent on year, beating expectations for a drop of 2.6 percent but down from the 3.9 percent jump in the previous month. Imports dipped an annual 1.5 percent versus forecasts for a fall of 1.2 percent following the 2.3 percent gain a month earlier.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar rose to a six-year high against the yen amid speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve may start rising rates sooner than expected. The U.S. dollar traded in the mid 108 yen level in early deals in Tokyo. The yen is currently trading at 108.53 to the dollar, against Wednesday's close of 107.26 yen per dollar.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong, Australia, Malaysia and South Korea are trading weak. New Zealand, Taiwan, Indonesia and Singapore are up with modest gains, while Shanghai is flat.
On Wall Street, stocks ended modestly higher on Wednesday after seeing volatility following the release of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement.
Traders seemed pleased that the Fed reiterated its pledge to keep interest rates low for a "considerable time" as well as its assessment that "there remains significant underutilization of labor resources."
The Fed also announced its widely anticipated decision to scale back its asset purchase program by another $10 billion to just $15 billion per month. The central bank said it still expects to end the program at its next meeting.
The major averages ended the day in positive territory but well off their best levels. The Dow rose 24.9 points or 0.2 percent to 17,156.9, a new high. The Nasdaq climbed 9.4 points or 0.2 percent to 4,562.2, while the S&P 500 crept up 2.6 points or 0.1 percent to 2,001.6.
Major European markets ended mixed on Wednesday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index slipped by 0.2 percent, the German DAX index and the French CAC 40 index rose by 0.3 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.
U.S. crude oil ended lower on Wednesday, despite a late rally. Oil was down early on in the session as the U.S. Energy Information Administration's weekly oil report showed crude stockpiles in the U.S. to have increased much more than expected.
However, oil pulled back sharply after the Federal Reserve maintained its pledge to keep near-zero rates in place for a "considerable time" after its bond-buying stimulus program ends.
Crude oil futures for October delivery ended down $0.46 or 0.5 percent at $94.42 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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