(RTTNews) – The Japan stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting almost 600 points or 1.5 percent along the way. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 38,940-point plateau although the rally may stall on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement as geopolitical concerns appear to have taken a breather. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The Nikkei finished modestly higher again on Wednesday as gains from the automobile producers and technology stocks were capped by weakness from the financial sector.
For the day, the index jumped 151.51 points or 0.39 percent to finish at 38,942.07 after trading between 38,711.11 and 38,944.77.
Among the actives, Nissan Motor rose 0.33 percent, while Mazda Motor added 0.69 percent, Toyota Motor skidded 1.18 percent, Honda Motor perked 0.18 percent, Softbank Group tumbled 1.73 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial fell 0.35 percent, Mizuho Financial dropped 0.95 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial shed 0.52 percent, Mitsubishi Electric jumped 1.96 percent, Sony Group rallied 1.26 percent, Panasonic Holdings improved 0.80 percent and Hitachi strengthened 1.37 percent.
The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as the major averages opened mixed and spent the whole day hugging the line before ending little changed.
The Dow dropped 106.59 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 42,982.43, while the NASDAQ added 61.02 points or 0.31 percent to close at 19,973.55 and the S&P 500 eased 0.02 points or 0.00 percent to end at 6,092.16.
The initial strength on Wall Street reflected recent upward momentum, which saw stocks move sharply higher over the two previous sessions.
Buying interest waned shortly after the start of trading, however, as traders continue to monitor developments in the Middle East following yesterday’s news of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. The subsequent pullback likely was profit taking after the major averages reached their highest intraday levels in four months.
In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Commerce Department showed a substantial pullback by new home sales in the U.S. in May.
Crude oil prices moved higher on Wednesday as an EIA report indicated a draw in crude oil inventories and a surge in U.S. gasoline demand to a three-and-a-half-year high. West Texas Intermediate crude oil for August delivery closed up by $0.55 to settle at $64.92 per barrel.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
