TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market on Monday wrote a finish to the two-day slide in which it had given up more than 410 points or 0.8 percent. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 51,830-point plateau and it's got a solid lead for Tuesday's trade.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, with oil companies expected to lead the way - although profit-taking may creep in late in the day. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to at least open in similar fashion.
The Nikkei finished sharply higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.
For the day, the index soared 1,493.32 points or 2.97 percent to finish at 51,832.80 after trading between 50,995.67 and 52,033.24.
Among the actives, Nissan Motor added 0.67 percent, while Mazda Motor accelerated 2.17 percent, Toyota Motor climbed 1.28 percent, Honda Motor strengthened 1.43 percent, Softbank Group soared 4.89 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial collected 2.09 percent, Mizuho Financial vaulted 3.05 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial rallied 2.82 percent, Mitsubishi Electric surged 4.47 percent, Sony Group advanced 1.37 percent, Panasonic Holdings spiked 2.72 percent and Hitachi expanded 3.39 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened higher on Monday and remained in the green throughout the trading day.
The Dow rallied 594.79 points or 1.23 percent to finish at 48,977.18, while the NASDAQ added 160.19 points or 0.69 percent to end at 23,395.82 and the S&P 500 gained 43.58 points or 0.64 percent to close at 6,902.05.
The jump by the Dow reflected a spike by shares of Chevron (CVX), with the energy giant soaring by 5.1 percent. Chevron, which is one of the leading private oil companies in Venezuela, surged following a U.S. attack on the country that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.
The price of crude oil also shot up in reaction to the news, contributing to substantial strength among oil service stocks. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index spiked by 5.5 percent amid optimism about potential gains from rebuilding Venezuela's oil infrastructure.
On the U.S. economic front, the Institute for Supply Management said its reading on U.S. manufacturing activity unexpectedly decreased in December.
Crude oil prices surged on Monday after OPEC reaffirmed its plans to pause production increases for early 2026, thereby allaying oversupply concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was up $58.31 or 0.99 percent at $1.73 per barrel.
Closer to home, Japan will release December data for its monetary base later this morning. The monetary base is expected to sink 8.0 percent on year after falling 8.7 percent in November.
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