TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market is advancing on Friday for the sixth straight day, following the record highs overnight on Wall Street and on a weaker yen. Investors also digested upbeat Japan manufacturing data.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 124.91 points or 0.53 percent to 23,799.84, after touching a high of 23,864.04 in early trades. Japanese shares ended little changed on Thursday.
The major exporters are mostly higher on a weaker yen. Panasonic is rising almost 2 percent, Canon is adding 0.6 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is up 0.4 percent, while Sony is declining almost 2 percent.
Automaker Honda is advancing almost 1 percent and Toyota is rising 0.6 percent. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is adding 1 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is higher by more than 1 percent.
Among oil stocks, Inpex is up more than 1 percent and Japan Petroleum is gaining more than 2 percent.
Among the major gainers, Showa Denko and Kyocera are rising more than 4 percent each, while TDK Corp. and Pacific Metals are higher by almost 4 percent each.
On the flip side, Toto is losing more than 4 percent, Kao Corp. is declining more than 3 percent and Alps Electric is lower by almost 3 percent.
In economic news, the latest survey from Nikkei revealed that the manufacturing sector in Japan continued to expand in September, and at an accelerated pace, with a manufacturing PMI score of 52.9. That's up from 52.5 in August, and it moved further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said that overall nationwide consumer prices in Japan were up 1.3 percent on year in August. That exceeded expectations for 1.1 percent and was up from 0.9 percent in July.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the mid 112 yen-range on Friday.
On Wall Street, stocks rallied on Thursday as traders continued to shrug off concerns about the escalating trade dispute between the U.S. and China. Upbeat economic data also generated some positive sentiment, with a report from the Labor Department showing initial jobless claims unexpectedly dipped to their lowest level in nearly fifty years in the week ended September 15.
The Dow jumped 251.22 points or 1 percent to 26,656.98, the Nasdaq surged up 78.19 points or 1 percent to 8,028.23 and the S&P 500 advanced 22.80 points or 0.8 percent to 2,930.75.
The major European markets also moved to the upside on Thursday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.5 percent, the German DAX Index advanced by 0.9 percent and the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.1 percent.
Crude oil futures failed to hold early gains and ended lower on Thursday. WTI crude for October delivery declined $0.38 to close at $70.80 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX