TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market, which resumed trading after a holiday in the previous session, is modestly higher on Wednesday in choppy trading following the negative cues overnight from Wall Street amid renewed Brexit uncertainty.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 44.60 points or 0.20 percent to 22,593.50, after falling to a low of 22,457.89 earlier.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 2 percent, while Fast Retailing is advancing almost 1 percent.
The major exporters are mostly lower on a stronger safe-haven yen. Sony is declining more than 1 percent, Panasonic is lower by 0.4 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is down 0.2 percent, while Canon is advancing more than 1 percent.
In the tech space, Tokyo Electron is losing more than 3 percent and Advantest is down 0.6 percent. Among auto stocks, Honda Motor is lower by more than 1 percent, while Toyota Motor is adding 0.3 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Mitsui E&S and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha are rising more than 3 percent each, while Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma is higher by almost 3 percent.
On the flip side, Rakuten is losing 3 percent, while Sumitomo Chemical and Sumco Corp. are lower by almost 3 percent.
In economic news, Japan will release September data for department store sales today.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 108 yen-range on Wednesday.
On Wall Street, stocks closed lower on Tuesday in choppy trading, reflecting renewed uncertainty about Brexit after U.K. lawmakers voted to move forward with legislation related to Britain's withdrawal from the European Union but then voted against a shortened time frame to review the bill. The vote suggests lawmakers will not meet an October 31 deadline, setting the stage for another extension by the EU to avoid a no-deal Brexit. Earlier in the day, mixed earnings results from some big-name companies pulled the markets in opposite directions.
The Nasdaq slid 58.69 points or 0.7 percent to 8,104.30, the S&P 500 fell 10.73 points or 0.4 percent to 2,995.99, and the Dow dipped 39.54 points or 0.2 percent to 26,788.10.
The major European markets moved to the upside on Tuesday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index edged up by 0.2 percent and the German DAX Index crept up by 0.1 percent.
Crude oil prices moved up sharply on Tuesday, buoyed by reports that OPEC is likely to consider more output reductions and make an announcement regarding this in December. WTI crude for December delivery jumped $0.97 or about 1.8 percent to $54.48 a barrel.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2019 AFX News
