TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market is rising on Tuesday following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street reflecting continued positive sentiment after the U.S. and China finally reached an agreement on a phase one trade deal last week.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 83.89 points or 0.35 percent to 24,036.24, after touching a high of 24,091.12 in early trades. Japanese shares closed lower on Monday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group Corp. is adding 0.4 percent and Fast Retailing is advancing almost 1 percent.
The major exporters are modestly higher on a weaker yen. Panasonic is rising 0.5 percent and Canon is adding 0.2 percent. Sony and Mitsubishi Electric are edging up 0.1 percent each.
Nippon Steel and ArcelorMittal said they have completed their $7 billion takeover of Essar Steel India and will operate the Indian steelmaker through a joint venture. Shares of Nippon Steel are losing almost 1 percent.
Among auto stocks, Toyota Motor and Honda Motor are adding 0.5 percent each. In the oil sector, Inpex is gaining 3 percent and Japan Petroleum is advancing almost 2 percent after crude oil prices edged higher overnight.
In the tech space, Advantest is rising more than 1 percent, while Tokyo Electron is down 0.3 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Tosoh Corp. is gaining almost 5 percent and FamilyMart Co. is rising almost 3 percent. Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma and Konami Holdings are advancing more than 2 percent each.
On the flip side, Dentsu is losing more than 4 percent after the advertising agency said it will lay off about 1,400 employees in seven foreign markets and also lowered its outlook for full-year profit.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the mid 109 yen-range on Tuesday.
On Wall Street, stocks ended at new record closing highs on Monday reflecting continued positive sentiment after the U.S. and China finally reached an agreement on a phase one trade deal last week. However, the agreement does not completely end the U.S.-China trade war, as some tariffs will remain in place as negotiators begin phase two talks. A report from the National Association of Homebuilder showing a substantial improvement in homebuilder confidence added to the positive sentiment on Wall Street.
The Dow closed up 100.51 points or 0.4 percent at 28,235.89, the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 79.35 points or 0.9 percent to 8,814.23, and the S&P 500 climbed 22.65 points or 0.7 percent to 3,191.45.
The major European markets all showed strong moves to the upside on Monday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index spiked by 2.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.2 percent and the German DAX Index advanced by 0.9 percent.
Crude oil prices moved modestly higher during trading on Monday, extending the notable upward move seen over the two previous sessions. WTI crude for January delivery edged up $0.14 to a three-month closing high of $60.21 a barrel.
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