TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market is notably higher on Monday following the positive cues from Wall Street Friday amid optimism about U.S.-China trade talks and as data showed that China's factory activity in March unexpectedly rose for the first time in four months. In addition, a weaker yen boosted exporters' shares.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is gaining 400.85 points or 1.89 percent to 21,606.66, after touching a high of 21,611.58 earlier. Japanese stocks closed higher on Friday.
The major exporters are higher on a weaker yen. Mitsubishi Electric is gaining more than 3 percent, Panasonic is rising more than 2 percent, Sony is up more than 1 percent and Canon is higher by almost 1 percent.
In the tech sector, Advantest and Tokyo Electron are higher by more than 1 percent each. Among the major automakers, Honda is gaining almost 3 percent and Toyota is rising more than 2 percent.
In the banking space, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are higher by more than 2 percent each. In the oil sector, Inpex is adding more than 1 percent and Japan Petroleum is rising more than 2 percent.
Japan Display, which is making final arrangements to raise about 100 billion yen from a China-Taiwan consortium and Japanese public-private investment fund INCJ Ltd., hopes to reach a deal as early as this week, according to media reports. Shares of the Apple supplier are gaining more than 11 percent.
Shares of Nomura Holdings are gaining almost 3 percent after the company received approval from Chinese regulators to establish a majority-controlled brokerage in China.
Among the other major gainers, Daiichi Sankyo is gaining almost 10 percent, Yaskawa Electric is rising more than 6 percent and Unitika is higher by almost 6 percent. On the flip side, Rakuten is losing more than 3 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the 111 yen-range on Monday.
On Wall Street, stocks rose on Friday amid optimism about the ongoing trade talks between the U.S. and China. In a post on Twitter, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin described the latest round of high-level U.S. trade talks as 'constructive' and also said he looks forward to welcoming China's Vice Premier Liu He to continue the important discussions in Washington next week.
The Dow advanced 211.22 points or 0.8 percent to 25,928.68, the Nasdaq climbed 60.16 points or 0.8 percent to 7,729.32 and the S&P 500 rose 18.96 points or 0.7 percent at 2,834.40.
The major European markets also moved to the upside on Friday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.6 percent, the German DAX Index advanced by 0.9 percent and the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1 percent.
Crude oil prices moved higher on Friday as a drop in crude supply due to U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela and the OPEC-led output cuts outweighed concerns about a global economic showdown. WTI crude oil futures for May ended up $0.84 or 1.4 percent at $60.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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