TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market is slightly higher in choppy trading on Monday, recouping some of the losses in the previous three sessions, with the Nikkei 225 alternating across the unchanged line to stay below the 27,700 level, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street on Friday, as traders continue to be cautious amid the potential economic impact of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis and the increasing sanctions on Russia.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 10.33 points or 0.04 percent at 27,676.31, after touching a high of 27,754.24 and a low of 27,578.81 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly lower on Friday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining almost 4 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing almost 2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing almost 1 percent and Toyota is edging down 0.3 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is declining almost 2 percent, Tokyo Electron is losing more than 2 percent and Screen Holdings is down almost 3 percent. In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial edging down 0.3 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is down almost 1 percent and Mizuho Financial is edging down 0.5 percent.
The major exporters are mixed, with Panasonic edging up 0.5 percent and Sony gaining more than 1 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric is edging down 0.2 percent and Canon is losing almost 1 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Astellas Pharma, Olympus and M3 are gaining more than 3 percent each, while Shinsei Bank, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Shionogi & Co. and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines are all adding almost 3 percent each.
Conversely, Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings is losing almost 3 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the mid-122 yen-range on Monday.
On Wall Street, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Friday following the sell-off seen late in the previous session. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before closing moderately higher.
A late move to the upside helped the major averages finish the day in positive territory. The Dow advanced 139.92 points or 0.4 percent to 34,818.27, the Nasdaq rose 40.98 points or 0.3 percent to 14,261.50 and the S&P 500 climbed 15.45 points or 0.3 percent to 4,545.86.
The major European markets also all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.4 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index edged up by 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.
Crude oil prices dropped Friday, extending their slide from the previous session as International Energy Agency members have agreed to release oil from strategic reserve to stabilize global energy markets. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended down by $1.01 or 1 percent at $99.27 a barrel. WTI crude futures shed nearly 13 percent in the week, posting the biggest weekly loss in two years.
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