TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Extending the gains in the previous two sessions, the Japanese market is notably higher on Friday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving well above the 44,600 level, with gains in automakers, financial and technology stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 259.39 points or 0.58 percent to 44,631.89, after touching a high of 44,888.02 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply higher on Thursday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging down 0.5 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is edging up 0.2 percent and Honda is adding almost 1 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 1 percent and Tokyo Electron is advancing almost 3 percent, while Screen Holdings is losing almost 2 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are edging up 0.1 to 0.4 percent each.
Among the major exporters, Sony is gaining almost 1 percent, Canon is edging up 0.2 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is advancing almost 3 percent, while Panasonic is edging down 0.3 percent.
Among other major gainers, Resonac Holdings is surging 4.5 percent, while Konica Minolta and Socionext are gaining more than 3 percent each. Yokohama Rubber is advancing almost 3 percent.
Conversely, there are no other major losers.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 147 yen-range on Friday.
On Wall Street, stocks showed a strong move to the upside during trading on Thursday, with the major averages all moving notably higher following the mixed performance seen during Wednesday's session. With the upward move, the major averages all reached new record closing highs.
The major averages finished the session just off their best levels of the day. The Dow surged 617.08 points or 1.4 percent to 46,108.00, the S&P 500 jumped 55.43 points or 0.9 percent to 6,587.47 and the Nasdaq advanced 157.01 points or 0.7 percent to 22,043.07.
The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index rose by 0.3 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index both advanced by 0.8 percent.
Crude oil prices fell sharply on Thursday, triggered by the International Energy Agency's monthly report that boosted the supply estimate for 2025 and 2026, indicating a glut. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery sank $1.22 or 1.92 percent at $62.45 per barrel.
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