TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market is notably higher on Wednesday following the overnight rally on Wall Street amid optimism that U.S. lawmakers are close to a deal on a massive fiscal stimulus bill worth $2 trillion to combat the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Investors are also relieved that the Tokyo Olympics will only be postponed by a year, and not cancelled.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is gaining 866.64 points or 4.79 percent to 18,958.99, after touching a high of 19,140.89 earlier. Japanese stocks posted their biggest single-day gain since February 2016 on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, market heavyweight SoftBank is rising more than 2 percent and Fast Retailing is gaining more than 5 percent.
The major exporters are higher on a weaker yen. Panasonic is climbing 10 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is higher by almost 8 percent, while Sony and Canon are rising almost 3 percent each.
In the oil sector, Inpex is jumping more than 7 percent and Japan Petroleum is gaining more than 6 percent after crude oil prices extended gains overnight.
In the tech space, Advantest is higher by more than 4 percent, while Tokyo Electron is down 0.5 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Tokyo Tatemono is climbing almost 13 percent, Mitsui Fudosan is gaining more than 11 percent and GS Yuasa is higher by almost 10 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 110 yen-range on Wednesday.
On Wall Street, stocks staged a massive rally on Tuesday amid indications Democrats and Republicans are closing in on an agreement on a massive fiscal stimulus bill. Schumer indicated Democrats are still pushing for increased oversight of a proposed $500 billion bailout fund to help industries that are struggling amid the coronavirus outbreak. Traders were also reacting to President Donald Trump's comments suggesting the coronavirus-related shutdown of much of the country could end sooner than many anticipated.
The Dow skyrocketed 2,112.98 points or 11.3 percent to 20,704.91, the Nasdaq spiked 557.18 points or 8.1 percent to 7,417.86 and the S&P 500 soared 209.93 points or 9.4 percent to 2,447.33.
The major European markets also showed substantial moves to the upside on Tuesday. While the German DAX Index skyrocketed by 11 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index spiked by 9.1 percent and 8.4 percent, respectively.
Crude oil prices moved higher on Tuesday, rising further after gains in the previous session thanks to the Federal Reserve's massive asset-buying scheme. WTI crude oil for May rose $0.65 or about 2.8 percent to $24.01 a barrel.
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