TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market is modestly higher on Thursday in choppy trading, recovering from a weak start following the negative cues overnight from Wall Street. Investors remained cautious after the release of weak U.S. retail sales data and amid worries about Brexit.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 47.71 points or 0.21 percent to 22,520.63, after falling to a low of 22424.92 in early trades.
The major exporters are mixed despite a weaker yen. Sony is advancing more than 1 percent and Panasonic is edging up 0.1 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric is lower by 0.7 percent and Canon is declining 0.6 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is rising almost 2 percent, while Tokyo Electron is down 0.5 percent. Among auto stocks, Toyota Motor is declining almost 1 percent and Honda Motor is down 0.2 percent.
Market heavyweight SoftBank is adding 0.4 percent, while Fast Retailing is down 0.2 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Yamato Holdings is rising almost 4 percent and Shionogi & Co. is advancing almost 2 percent.
On the flip side, Toho Zinc is losing almost 3 percent, while Sumitomo Metal Mining, Pacific Metals, Central Japan Railway and NTN Corp. are all lower by more than 2 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 108 yen-range on Thursday.
On Wall Street, stocks closed lower on Wednesday in choppy trading as traders digested mixed U.S. economic data as well as the latest batch of corporate earnings news. The Commerce Department noted an unexpected decrease in U.S. retail sales in September, while the National Association of Home Builders released a report showing homebuilder confidence unexpectedly climbed to its highest level in well over a year in the month of October.
The Dow shed 22.82 points or 0.08 percent to end at 27,001.98, the Nasdaq lost 24.52 points or 0.30 percent to 8,124.18 and the S&P 500 fell 5.99 points or 0.20 percent to 2,989.69.
The major European markets mostly ended weak on Wednesday as investors largely stayed cautious, looking ahead to the outcome of Brexit talks and amid uncertainty about a U.S.-China trade deal. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 declined 0.61 percent and France's CAC 40 edged down 0.09 percent, while Germany's DAX advanced 0.32 percent.
Crude oil prices edged higher on Wednesday amid expectations OPEC will continue to cut output. WTI crude for November ended up $0.55 or 1 percent at $53.36 a barrel.
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