TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market is modestly higher after early slump on Thursday, recouping the losses of the previous session, with the Nikkei 225 just above the 29,700 level, after the BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda provided a cautiously optimistic view of the economy, saying it would continue to improve as robust global demand lifts business sentiment. The cues overnight from Wall Street were negative.
However, traders continue to be worried of the restrictions in economic activity amid the recent spike in coronavirus cases, with Japan reporting more than 4,000 new cases on Wednesday as the highly contagious variants drive a fourth wave of infections.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is gaining 57.43 points or 0.19 percent to 29,678.42, after touching a high of 29, 787.66 in early trades. Japanese shares ended lower on Wednesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining almost 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.4 percent. Among automakers, Honda is adding almost 2 percent and Toyota is gaining almost 1 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is losing almost 2 percent, Screen Holdings is declining more than 2 percent and Tokyo Electron is down more than 1 percent. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are gaining more than 2 percent each.
The major exporters are mostly higher. Mitsubishi Electric and Sony are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Canon is edging up 0.2 percent and Panasonic is adding almost 2 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Nippon Yusen is adding more than 5 percent, while Seven & I Holdings and Sumitomo Metal Mining are up almost 4 percent each. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha is gaining almost 4 percent, while Mitsui Mining & Smelting and Nippon Steel are adding more than 3 percent each.
Conversely, J. Front Retailing is losing almost 3 percent, while CyberAgent and Casio Computer are down more than 2 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in higher 108 yen-range on Thursday.
On Wall Street, stocks came under pressure over the course of the trading day on Wednesday after moving to the upside early in the session. Reflecting weakness among technology stocks, the tech-heavy Nasdaq led the way lower.
After jumping by 1.1 percent in the previous session to its highest closing level in nearly two months, the Nasdaq slumped 138.26 points or 1 percent to 13,857.84. The S&P 500 also slid 16.93 points or 0.4 percent to 4,124.66 after reaching a new record intraday high in early trading. On the other hand, the Dow pulled back well off its best levels of the day but still closed up 53.62 points or 0.2 percent at 33,730.89.
Most European stocks also moved to the upside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.7 percent and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.4 percent, while the German DAX Index bucked the uptrend and dipped by 0.2 percent.
Crude oil futures spiked on Wednesday, buoyed by an upward revision in the global oil demand forecast by the International Energy Agency. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May jumped $2.97 or 4.9 percent at $63.15 a barrel, the highest settlement in four weeks.
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