TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market is modestly higher on Tuesday, extending the gains of the previous three sessions, with the benchmark Nikkei index above the 28,500 level, following the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street.
However, the upside is capped as the government is mulling tougher measures to contain the daily coronavirus case rate amid the fourth wave of infections driven by more contagious variants. Tokyo will decide this weekend on extending the COVID-19 state of emergency into June as the Olympic countdown begins. The country opened mass vaccination centers just two months before the Olympics.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is gaining 170.53 points or 0.60 percent to 28,535.14, after touching a high of 28,576.97 earlier. Japanese shares closed slightly higher on Monday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining almost 1 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing more than 1 percent and Toyota is flat.
In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 2 percent, Tokyo Electron is adding more than 1 percent and Screen Holdings is up almost 2 percent. In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are edging down 0.2 percent each, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging up 0.2 percent.
The major exporters are mixed, with Sony gaining more than 1 percent, Panasonic adding more than 2 percent and Mitsubishi Electric edging up 0.2 percent, while Canon is losing more than 1 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Konami Holdings and Z Holdings are gaining 3.5 percent each, while Sharp and Toho are adding more than 3 percent each. NTN, Kobe Steel, Sumco and JFE Holdings are up almost 3 percent each, while Fujikura, Ebara, DeNA and Mitsui E&S Holdings are rising more than 2 percent each.
Conversely, Tosoh is losing more than 2 percent, while Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings, NH Foods, T&D Holdings, NEXON and Ricoh are declining almost 2 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 108 yen-range on Tuesday.
On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Monday following the mixed performance seen last week. The major averages all moved to the upside on the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq showing a particularly strong advance.
The major averages gave back ground going into the close but remained firmly positive. The Dow climbed 186.14 points or 0.5 percent to 34,393.98, the Nasdaq surged up 190.18 points or 1.4 percent to 13,661.17 and the S&P 500 jumped 41.19 points or 1 percent to 4,197.05.
European stocks moved mostly higher in light trading, with several markets in the region closed for holidays. While the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.4 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.5 percent.
Crude oil futures climbed higher on Monday as inconclusive nuclear deal negotiations with Iran and reports of a possible hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico supported prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July surged $2.47 or 3.9 percent at $66.05 a barrel.
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