The Japanese stock market is trading modestly higher on Friday with shares of electronics retailers leading the gains on the back of reports the government may revive subsidies for energy-saving appliances.
Electric power, pharmaceuticals, railway, construction and chemicals stocks are mostly up in positive territory. Financial, insurance and rubber stocks are trading weak.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which started off on a slightly negative note, rose to 9,985.3 subsequently and is currently up 22.8 points or 0.2 percent at 9,958.9.
Shares of electronics retailer Hitachi Ltd. are up more than 2 percent following an announcement from the company that it has been named a strategic investor in a Lithuanian nuclear plant project.
Shinsei Bank is gaining over 3.5 percent. Yamato Holdings is up nearly 3 percent. Yahoo Japan, West Japan Railway, Tosoh, Mitsubishi Chemicals, Sumitomo Osaka, Furukawa Electric, Fuji Electric and Mitsubishi Materials are up 2 to 2.5 percent.
Marui Group, Ebara, Tokyo Electric Power, GS Yuasa, East Japan Railway, Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Mitsui Chemicals, Shinonogi, Sapporo Holdings, Casio Computer and Canon Inc are also up with strong gains.
Nippon Paper, Credit Saison, Inpex, Mitsubishi Paper, Komatsu, Bank of Yokohama, Nisshin Steel, Honda Motor and Fast Retailing are trading notably lower.
According to the minutes of Bank of Japan's monetary policy meeting on June 13 and 14, members of the board said that the Japanese economy could continue to face downward pressure following the devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11. The bank also noted that the stronger yen is hampering the recovery by affecting exporter sentiment.
At the meeting, the board unanimously decided to leave the uncollateralized overnight call rate unchanged at around 0 to 0.1 percent by a unanimous vote. The central bank also announced that it will expand the lending facility it introduced last summer to support recovery of the ailing economy.
Under the expanded facility, the central bank will lend up to 500 billion yen. Each financial institution can borrow up to 50 billion yen at an interest rate of 0.1 percent per annum for a maximum duration of four years.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded around the 79 yen-range in early deals in Tokyo. The yen is currently trading at 79.10 to the U.S. dollar.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore are trading weak, while New Zealand, South Korea and Taiwan are trading modestly higher. Markets across the region ended on a mixed note on Thursday.
On Wall Street, stocks ended mostly lower on Thursday despite showing some strength early on in the session. While stocks found some support initially following an unexpected rise in retail sales and a drop in weekly jobless claims, the decline was due to uncertainty about raising the debt limit and the near-term outlook for the economy.
The Dow ended down 54.5 points or 0.4 percent at 12,437.1, the Nasdaq declined by 34.2 points or 1.2 percent to 2,762.7 and the S&P 500 slid 8.8 points or 0.7 percent to 1,308.9.
Major European markets ended in negative territory on Thursday. The German DAX index ended down 0.7 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index and the French CAC 40 index lost 1 percent and 1.1 percent respectively.
Crude oil prices eased on Thursday amid worries about a likely fall in demand following the U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman's statement that the central bank was not ready yet to take more monetary easing measures. Light, sweet crude for August delivery ended down $2.36 at $95.69 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.