TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japan stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting more than 430 points or 1 percent along the way. The Nikkei 225 now rests just beneath the 42,830-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement ahead of key U.S. inflation data later today. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The Nikkei finished modestly higher again on Thursday following gains from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.
For the day, the index improved 308.52 points or 0.73 percent to finish at the daily high of 42,828.79 after moving as low as 42,299.79.
Among the actives, Nissan Motor retreated 1.32 percent, while Mazda Motor added 0.70 percent, Toyota Motor gained 0.50 percent, Honda Motor rose 0.27 percent, Softbank Group soared 3.21 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial collected 0.80 percent, Mizuho Financial rallied 1.83 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial was down 0.10 percent, Mitsubishi Electric eased 0.14 percent, Sony Group climbed 1.12 percent, Panasonic Holdings dipped 0.20 percent and Hitachi jumped 1.78 percent.
The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday but tracked steadily higher as the day progressed, ending near session highs.
The Dow gained 71.67 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 45,636.90, while the NASDAQ climbed 115.02 points or 0.53 percent to end at 21,705.16 and the S&P 500 rose 20.46 points or 0.32 percent to close at 6,501.86.
The strength that emerged on Wall Street came as traders digested highly anticipated earnings news from Nvidia (NVDA), with the AI darling and market leader reporting reported second quarter results that largely exceeded expectations but data center sales that came in below estimates.
Investors were also looking ahead to the release of the Commerce Department's report later today on personal income and spending in July, which includes the Federal Reserve's preferred readings on consumer price inflation.
In economic news, the Commerce Department said the U.S. economy grew more than estimated in the second quarter of 2025. Also, the Labor Department noted a modest decrease by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week.
Crude oil prices moved higher on Thursday following a drop in U.S. crude inventories a day earlier. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $0.42 or 0.65 percent at $64.57 per barrel.
Closer to home, Japan is scheduled to release a batch of data today, including July figures for unemployment, industrial production, retail sales, housing starts and construction orders, as well as August data for household confidence and Tokyo inflation.
The jobless rate is expected to hold steady at 2.5 percent, while the jobs-to-applicant ratio is tipped to rise to 1.23 from 1.22. Industrial production is expected to slip 1.2 percent on month after rising 2.1 percent in June. Retail sales are called higher by an annual 1.6 percent, easing from 2.0 percent a month earlier.
Housing starts are tipped to fall 9.8 percent on year after sinking 15.6 percent in the previous month. The household confidence index is expected to see a score of 43.2, up from 33.7 in July. Tokyo inflation, both core and overall, were up 2.9 percent on year in July.
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