TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market is rising on Thursday and the safe-haven yen weakened following the overnight gains on Wall Street amid easing political tensions in Hong Kong and on reduced chances of a no-deal Brexit in the UK.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is advancing 302.42 points or 1.46 percent to 20,951.56, after rising to a high of 20,958.91 earlier. Japanese shares closed marginally higher on Wednesday.
The major exporters are higher on a weaker yen. Mitsubishi Electric is gaining more than 3 percent, Sony is gaining more than 2 percent, Panasonic is higher by almost 2 percent and Canon is advancing more than 1 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 4 percent and Tokyo Electron is rising more than 3 percent. In the auto sector, Honda Motor is up more than 2 percent and Toyota Motor is edging up 0.1 percent.
Shares of Nissan Motor are declining more than 1 percent after the Nikkei reported that an internal investigation by the automaker showed CEO Hiroto Saikawa is suspected of improperly adding 47 million yen to his compensation by manipulating the terms of a performance-based bonus.
Market heavyweight SoftBank is advancing almost 1 percent and Fast Retailing is adding 0.5 percent.
Among oil stocks, Japan Petroleum is gaining 2 percent and Inpex is higher by more than 1 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Toho Zinc is gaining more than 8 percent, while Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha and Nippon Kayaku Co. are higher by more than 5 percent each.
On the flip side, Tokyo Dome is losing more than 7 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 106 yen-range on Thursday.
On Wall Street, stocks closed higher on Wednesday, reflecting a positive reaction to developments overseas, including news that Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has withdrawn a controversial extradition bill. The bill, which would have allowed people in Hong Kong to be extradited to mainland China, sparked widespread protests across Hong Kong.
Positive sentiment was also generated in reaction to a report showing growth in China's service sector accelerated in August despite broader economic headwinds.
The Dow advanced 237.45 points or 0.9 percent to 26,355.47, the Nasdaq soared 102.72 points or 1.3 percent to 7,976.88 and the S&P 500 jumped 31.51 points or 1.1 percent to 2,937.78.
The major European markets also moved to the upside on Wednesday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.6 percent, the German DAX Index jumped by 1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index surged up by 1.2 percent.
Crude oil futures rebounded from previous session's losses and recorded their biggest single-session gain in about two months on Wednesday, buoyed by strong service sector data out of China and positive news on the political front. WTI crude for October delivery spiked $2.32 or 4.3 percent to $56.26 a barrel.
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