TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market is rising on Friday following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street on news that U.K. and European Union negotiators have reached a last-minute Brexit deal. Investors now look ahead to the release of China's GDP data for the third quarter later today.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 128.05 points or 0.57 percent to 22,579.91, after rising to a high of 22,595.94 earlier.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging up 0.1 percent, while Fast Retailing is higher by almost 2 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is adding almost 1 percent, while Tokyo Electron is declining 0.6 percent. Among auto stocks, Honda Motor is lower by 0.2 percent and Toyota Motor is edging down 0.1 percent.
The major exporters are mostly lower on a stronger safe-haven yen. Panasonic is losing almost 2 percent, Sony is declining almost 1 percent and Canon is down 0.6 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric is adding 0.6 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Pacific Metals is gaining more than 8 percent, Screen Holdings is rising almost 6 percent and Taiyo Yuden is higher by more than 4 percent.
In economic news, Japan will see September data for nationwide consumer prices today.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 108 yen-range on Friday.
On Wall Street, stocks closed higher in reaction to news that U.K. and European Union negotiators have reached a last-minute Brexit deal. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker described the deal as 'fair and balanced' for the EU and the U.K, and urged member nations to back the agreement. Uncertainty about final approval of the deal helped to limit the upside for the markets along with the release of some disappointing U.S. economic data.
The Dow bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before closing up 23.90 points or 0.1 percent to 27,025.88. The Nasdaq climbed 32.67 points or 0.4 percent to 8,156.85 and the S&P 500 rose 8.26 points or 0.3 percent to 2,997.95.
The major European markets closed mixed on Thursday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.4 percent.
Crude oil prices rebounded after early weakness and settled higher on Thursday. WTI crude for November ended up $0.57 or about 1.1 percent at $53.93 a barrel.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX