TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japan stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, advancing more than 500 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Nikkei 225 now sits just shy of the 40,800-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over earnings, with tech shares likely to lead the way higher. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.
The Nikkei finished modestly higher again on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.
For the day, the index spiked 245.32 points or 0.60 percent to finish at 40,794.86 after trading between 40,423.13 and 40,850.89.
Among the actives, Nissan Motor improved 0.76 percent, while Mazda Motor advanced 0.99 percent, Toyota Motor accelerated 1.57 percent, Honda Motor strengthened 1.52 percent, Softbank Group soared 4.25 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial collected 0.87 percent, Mizuho Financial rallied 1.39 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial increased 0.80 percent, Mitsubishi Electric spiked 2.52 percent, Sony Group jumped 2.18 percent, Panasonic Holdings climbed 1.89 percent and Hitachi added 0.61 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened mixed on Wednesday but quickly turned higher and spent the balance of the session in the green.
The Dow improved 81.38 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 44,193.12, while the NASDAQ rallied 252.87 points or 1.21 percent to end at 21,169.42 and the S&P 500 gained 45.87 points or 0.73 percent to close at 6,345.06.
Apple (AAPL) helped to lead the markets higher following reports the company will announce plans to invest $100 billion to expand its U.S. operations and increase its total investment in the U.S. over the next four years to $600 billion.
Stocks also benefitted from strong earnings news from companies like McDonald's (MCD), which reported second quarter results that exceeded estimates on both the top and bottom lines. Shopify (SHOP) also beat the street.
On the other hand, Super Micro Computer (SMCI), social media platform Snap (SNAP) and Disney (DIS) reported mixed third quarter results.
Crude oil lost early gains on Wednesday as Russia faces a threat of U.S. sanctions on its oil exports after August 8 if it fails to end its attempt to annex Ukraine. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was down $0.96 or 1.47 percent at $64.20 per barrel.
Closer to home, Japan will see preliminary June results for its leading and coincident indexes later today; in May, they were up 0.6 percent on month and flat, respectively.
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