Japanese Market Shows Significant Growth
After two days of decline, the Japanese market saw a notable rise on Friday, despite negative cues from Wall Street the previous day. The Nikkei 225 index is holding firmly above the 37,900 level, driven by gains in shares of major companies, as well as the financial and technology sectors.
The Nikkei 225 rose by 182.86 points (0.48%) to 37,934.74, reaching an intraday high of 37,947.36. On Wednesday, ahead of the holiday on Thursday, Japanese stocks ended trading with a slight decline.
Among the largest companies, SoftBank Group gained over 2%, while Fast Retailing, the owner of the Uniqlo brand, rose almost 1%. In the automotive sector, Toyota edged down 0.1%, while Honda climbed nearly 1%.
In the technology sector, Advantest lost almost 1%, while Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron each gained about 1%.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial added over 3%, Mizuho Financial rose nearly 3%, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial advanced almost 4%.
Among major exporters, Sony gained almost 3%, Panasonic rose about 2%, while Canon lost nearly 1%, and Mitsubishi Electric fell more than 1%.
Among other notable gainers, Mercari surged over 6%, while Mitsubishi Motors and BANDAI NAMCO each added nearly 5%. Sumitomo Electric Industries, Daiichi Sankyo, and Yaskawa Electric each rose more than 3%, while Fujikura gained almost 3%.
On the other hand, Recruit Holdings lost almost 5%, Sumco declined more than 4%, Kawasaki Heavy Industries slipped nearly 4%, and Japan Steel Works fell almost 3%.
On the economic front, Japan's core inflation slowed to 3% in February from 3.2% in January but still exceeded forecasts of 2.9%. This marks the second consecutive month that inflation has come in above expectations, strengthening the case for further interest rate hikes.
In the currency market, the US dollar is trading around 149 yen.
On Wall Street on Thursday, stocks showed mixed performance after recovering from an initial decline. Major indices fluctuated around the flatline but ultimately closed with minor losses.
The Nasdaq fell by 59.16 points (0.3%) to 17,691.63, while the S&P 500 lost 12.40 points (0.2%), dropping to 5,662.89. The Dow Jones Industrial Average showed an even more modest decline, losing 11.31 points (less than 0.1%) to close at 41,953.32.
European markets also ended the day in negative territory. Germany's DAX fell by 1.2%, France's CAC 40 dropped 1.0%, and the UK's FTSE 100 edged down 0.1%.
Oil prices rose on Thursday after the US imposed new sanctions on Iran. WTI crude futures for April delivery climbed by $1.10 (about 1.6%) to $68.26 per barrel on the expiration day.