TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market is up sharply, extending previous session's gains, tracking a positive lead from Wall Street where the Dow recorded its biggest single day gains in three years. A weaker yen is also contributing to the upside.
Meanwhile, investors are looking ahead to the Bank of Japan's interest rate decision, due later in the day. The central bank had surprised the markets with a massive stimulus a couple of months ago.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index is up 287.9 points or 1.7 percent at 17,498.0 .
Ricoh Co. shares are jumping nearly 8 percent. Isuzu Motors, Tokyo Electron, Daiwa Securities Group, Sumitomo Realty & Development, IHI Corp. and Shinsei Bank are moving up 4 to 5 percent.
Mitsubishi Motors, Japan Tobacco, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG), Mitsui Fudosan, Minebea Co., Nomura Holdings, Hino Motors and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MTU) are all up over 3 percent.
Sony Financial Holdings, Central Japan Railway, Sapporo Holdings, Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co., T&D Holdings, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings, Advantest Corp. (ATE), Fujitsu, Daikin Industries, Honda Motor (HMC), Astellas Pharma and Chiba Bank are also advancing 2 to 3 percent.
Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding is up nearly 1 percent after the company said it will invest about 17 billion yen into its domestic manufacturing bases.
Among the losers, Showa Denko KK, Sony Corp. (SNE), Teijin, Shiseido Co., Ube Industries and Casio Computer are declining 1 to 2 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the upper 118 yen level in early deals in Tokyo. The dollar is currently trading at 118.90 yen, up from Thursday's close of 118.68.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia are all notably higher. New Zealand is up marginally, while Shanghai is weak.
On Wall Street, stocks rose sharply on Thursday, adding to the strong gains posted in the previous session. A positive reaction to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement continued to contribute to the strength in the market. Buying interest was also generated by a Labor Department report showing an unexpected drop in weekly jobless claims in the week ended December 13.
The major averages ended the session at their best levels of the day. The Dow soared 421.3 points or 2.4 percent to 17,778.2, the Nasdaq jumped 104.1 points or 2.2 percent to 4,748.4 and the S&P 500 surged up 48.3 points or 2.4 percent to 2,061.2.
Major European markets too closed with strong gains on Thursday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index shot up by 2 percent, the German DAX index and the French CAC 40 index soared by 2.8 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively.
U.S. crude oil plunged to end over 4 percent lower on Thursday, on renewed worries over the oversupply situation amid demand growth concerns, even as U.S. stockpiles declined albeit less than expected last week.
Crude oil futures for January delivery ended down $2.36 or 4.2 percent at $54.11 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX