TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japan stock market has moved higher in consecutive trading days, collecting more than 900 points or 1.8 percent along the way. The Nikkei 225 now sits just beneath the 57,470-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on ongoing geopolitical concerns. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.
The Nikkei finished modestly higher on Thursday as gains from the financial shares and technology stocks were capped by weakness from the automobile producers.
For the day, the index added 323.99 points or 0.57 percent to finish at 57,467.83 after trading between 57,362.01 and 57,709.82.
Among the actives, Nissan Motor tumbled 1.92 percent, while Mazda Motor shed 0.54 percent, Toyota Motor climbed 1.18 percent, Honda Motor eased 0.06 percent, Softbank Group rallied 2.64 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial jumped 1.95 percent, Mizuho Financial soared 3.90 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial surged 4.27 percent, Mitsubishi Electric vaulted 1.88 percent, Sony Group sank 0.81 percent, Panasonic Holdings expanded 1.90 percent and Hitachi strengthened 1.63 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and spent the entire session under water, ending off session lows.
The Dow stumbled 267.50 points or 0.54 percent to finish at 49,395.16, while the NASDAQ dropped70.91 points or 0.31 percent to close at 22,682.73 and the S&P 500 slipped 19.42 points or 0.28 percent to end at 6,861.89.
The weakness on Wall Street partly reflected a negative reaction to earnings news from Walmart (WMT) after the company provided weaker than expected earnings guidance for the current year.
Negative sentiment may also have been generated by a continued spike by the price of crude oil amid concerns about a military conflict between the U.S. and Iran.
However, traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of closely watched readings on consumer price inflation on Friday. The data could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.
Crude oil prices jumped again on Thursday amid concerns about a military conflict between the U.S. and Iran, with reports suggesting American military intervention may be imminent. West Texas Intermediate for March delivery was up $1.25 or 1.9 percent to $66.44 a barrel.
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