The Japanese market is trading sharply higher on Friday, extending the sharp gains in the previous session, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving above the 62,950 level, with gains across most sectors led by index heavyweights and financial stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 1,266.94 points or 2.05 percent to 62,951.08, after touching a high of 62,962.96 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply higher on Thursday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is jumping more than 12 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining more than 2 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is gaining almost 1 percent and Honda is adding more than 1 percent.
In the tech space, Screen Holdings is gaining more than 1 percent, Advantest is adding almost 1 percent and Tokyo Electron is edging up 0.4 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is advancing almost 1 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are gaining more than 2 percent each.
Among the major exporters, Panasonic and Canon are edging up 0.5 percent each, while Mitsubishi Electric is gaining almost 4 percent. Sony is losing almost 2 percent.
Among other major gainers, Taiyo Yuden is soaring more than 12 percent, Kawasaki Heavy Industries is jumping almost 11 percent and Sumitomo Electric Industries is almost 10 percent and Furukawa Electric is gaining almost 9 percent, while Fujikura, Ebara, Fuji Electric and IHI are advancing almost 7 percent each. Sumco, ARCHION and Renesas Electronics are adding more than 6 percent each, while Fanuc and Murata Manufacturing are rising almost 6 percent. Rakuten Group is up more than 5 percent.
Conversely, Nissui, Sumitomo Pharma, ZOZO and Nisshin Seifun are declining more than 3 percent each, while Tokio Marine, Tokyu Fudosan and Nichirei are losing almost 3 percent each.
In economic news, consumer prices in Japan were up 1.4 percent on year in April, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday. That was in line with expectations and down from 1.5 percent in March.
On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, inflation was up 0.3 percent - again matching forecasts and easing from 0.4 percent in the previous month. Core CPI was up 1.4 percent on year, shy of expectations for 1.7 percent and down from 1.8 percent a month earlier.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 159 yen-range on Friday.
On Wall Street, stocks moved back to the downside in early trading on Thursday before regaining ground over the course of the day following the rally seen in the previous session. The major averages saw considerable volatility in the latter part of the session but finished in positive territory, with the Dow reaching a new record closing high.
The Dow advanced 276.31 points or 0.6 percent to 50,285.66, the S&P 500 rose 12.75 points or 0.2 percent to 7,445.72 and the Nasdaq inched up 22.74 points or 0.1 percent to 26,293.10.
The major European markets ended the day mixed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index crept up by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.4 percent and the German DAX Index slid by 0.5 percent.
Crude oil prices turned lower over the course of trading on Thursday as investors watched developments in the U.S.-Iran peace talks. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was down $1.41 or 1.43 percent at $96.85 per barrel.
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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.