TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market is rising on Thursday following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the third time this year. Investors also cheered upbeat Japanese industrial output data.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is advancing 101.53 points or 0.44 percent to 22,944.65, after rising to a high of 22,988.80 earlier. Japanese shares closed lower on Wednesday.
The major exporters are mixed on a stronger yen. Sony is rising more than 4 percent and Panasonic is adding 0.4 percent, while Canon is lower by 0.3 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is edging down 0.1 percent.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is rising almost 3 percent, while Fast Retailing is advancing more than 2 percent.
Among auto stocks, Toyota Motor is down 0.5 percent and Honda Motor is lower by almost 2 percent. In the tech space, Advantest is lower by more than 8 percent and Tokyo Electron is declining 0.6 percent.
In the oil sector, Japan Petroleum is lower by more than 1 percent and Inpex is down 0.5 percent after crude oil prices declined to a one-week low overnight.
Among the major gainers, Apple Inc. supplier Alps Apline is gaining more than 8 percent, AGC Inc is rising almost 7 percent and Shionogi & Co. is higher by more than 4 percent.
On the flip side, Cyberagent is losing more than 9 percent, Hitachi is falling almost 6 percent and Tokyo Gas is lower by almost 5 percent.
In economic news, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in Thursday's preliminary report that industrial production in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 1.4 percent on month in September. That beat forecasts for an increase of 0.4 percent following the 1.2 percent decline in August.
Japan is also scheduled to release preliminary September figures for housing starts and construction orders as well as October results for its consumer confidence index today.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 108 yen-range on Thursday.
On Wall Street, stocks closed moderately higher on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve announced its decision to lower interest rates for the third straight meeting. The Fed announced its widely expected decision to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 percent. Traders seemed unfazed by a change to the accompanying statement suggesting the central bank may put further monetary policy easing on hold.
The Dow climbed 115.27 points or 0.4 percent to 27,186.69, the Nasdaq rose 27.12 points or 0.3 percent to 8,303.98 and the S&P 500 ended the day up 9.88 points or 0.3 percent at 3,046.77.
The major European markets turned in another mixed performance on Wednesday. The German DAX Index edged down by 0.2 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.3 percent and the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.5 percent.
Crude oil prices drifted lower and closed at their lowest levels in about a week on Wednesday, after data showed a notable jump in crude inventories in the U.S. WTI crude for December ended down $0.48, or about 0.9 percent, at 55.06 a barrel.
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