TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market is rising on Friday as trading resumed after being halted for the entire day on Thursday due to a technical issue. Investors tracked the overnight gains on Wall Street, but remained cautious ahead of the release of U.S. jobs data for September later in the day.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 86.04 points or 0.37 percent to 23,271.16, after touching a high of 23,365.58 in early trades.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is rising more than 2 percent and Fast Retailing is advancing more than 1 percent.
Meanwhile, the major exporters are lower despite a slightly weaker yen. Panasonic and Canon are declining more than 1 percent each, while Sony is lower by 0.5 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is down 0.4 percent.
In the financial sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is rising more than 2 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is adding more than 1 percent.Among automakers, Honda is rising almost 2 percent, while Toyota Motor is edging down 0.1 percent.
In the oil sector, Japan Petroleum is gaining almost 4 percent, while Inpex is lower by almost 1 percent. In the tech sector, Tokyo Electron is higher by almost 2 percent and Advantest is adding almost 1 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Isetan Mitsukoshi is climbing more than 7 percent, Rakuten is rising almost 7 percent, J Front Retailing is higher by more than 5 percent and Unitika is advancing almost 5 percent.
Conversely, Mitsui Mining & Smelting is losing almost 4 percent, while Fujitsu and Daiichi Sankyo are lower by more than 3 percent each. Mitsubishi Materials is declining almost 3 percent.
On the economic front, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said that the unemployment rate in Japan came in at a seasonally adjusted 3.0 percent in August. That was in line with expectations and up from 2.9 percent in July.
Japan will also see September data for consumer confidence today.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the mid 105 yen-range on Friday.
On Wall Street, stocks closed higher on Thursday, adding to the gains posted in the previous session, as traders continued to express optimism lawmakers will ultimately reach a deal on a new coronavirus relief bill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin continue to work toward a potential agreement, although a spokesman for the Democratic leader noted 'distance on key areas remain.' On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department released a report showing a bigger than expected drop in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended September 26.
The Nasdaq surged up 159.00 points or 1.4 percent to 11,326.51, its best closing level in nearly a month. The Dow posted a more modest gain, inching up 35.20 points or 0.1 percent to 27,816.90, while the S&P 500 climbed 17.80 points or 0.5 percent at 3,380.80.
Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on Thursday. While the German DAX Index dipped by 0.2 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged up by 0.2 percent and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.4 percent.
Crude oil prices declined sharply on Thursday, weighed down by concerns about the outlook for energy demand. WTI crude for November fell $1.50 or about 3.7 percent at $38.72 a barrel.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX