(RTTNews) – The Japanese stock market has finished higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting more than 800 points or 2.3 percent along the way. The Nikkei 225 now sits just beneath the 35,040-point plateau and it’s expected to open to the upside again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with oil and technology stocks expected to lead the way higher. The European and U.S. markets finished solidly higher and the Asian bourses are also expected to open in the green.
The Nikkei finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.
For the day, the index gained 170.52 points or 0.49 percent to finish at 35,039.15 after trading between 34,960.65 and 35,287.95.
Among the actives, Nissan Motor improved 0.58 percent, while Mazda Motor accelerated 1.03 percent, Toyota Motor soared 2.92 percent, Honda Motor gained 0.63 percent, Softbank Group rallied 3.19 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial spiked 2.01 percent, Mizuho Financial collected 2.16 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial jumped 1.75 percent, Mitsubishi Electric shed 0.39 percent, Sony Group fell 0.25 percent, Panasonic Holdings added 0.58 percent and Hitachi climbed 1.05 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened mixed but quickly moved sharply higher, finishing near daily highs.
The Dow spiked 486.83 points or 1.23 percent to finish at 40,093.40, while the NASDAQ rallied 457.99 points or 2.74 percent to close at 17,166.04 and the S&P 500 jumped 108.91 points or 2.03 percent to end at 5,484.77.
Semiconductor stocks turned in some of the best performances on the day, resulting in a 5.6 percent spike by Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Texas Instruments (TXN) and Lam Research (LRCX) fueled the rally on better than expected quarterly earnings.
Later in the day, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. may reach “an agreement on understanding” on trade with South Korea “as soon as next week.”
On the economic front, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged modestly higher last week. Also, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods surged much more than expected in March
Crude oil showed a modest move back to the upside on Thursday following the steep drop in the previous session. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery rose $0.16 or 0.3 percent to $62.43 a barrel after plunging $1.40 or 2.2 percent to $62.27 a barrel a day earlier.
Closer to home, Japan will release April numbers for Tokyo consumer prices later this morning. In March, overall inflation was up 2.9 percent on year and core CPI rose an annual 2.4 percent.
Japan also will see February results for its leading and coincident indexes. The leading index is expected to slip 0.3 percent on month after adding 0.4 percent in January. The coincident is seen higher by 0.8 percent, up from 0.1 percent in the previous month.
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