The Japanese stock market exhibited a slight uptick on Wednesday, breaking a four-session losing streak. This movement followed the mixed signals from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 Index edged upwards, positioned just below the 38,500 threshold, with broad-based gains predominantly led by financial stocks. However, the technology sector remained a laggard.
The Nikkei 225 Index marked an increase of 17.28 points, or 0.04%, settling at 38,491.58, after reaching a peak of 38,774.99 earlier in the session. This followed a sharp decline in Japanese stocks on Tuesday.
Key market players showed varied performances: SoftBank Group saw a modest rise of 0.1%, while Fast Retailing, the parent company of Uniqlo, remained unchanged. In the automotive sector, Honda advanced by over 1%, and Toyota increased slightly by 0.5%.
Within the technology sector, Advantest dropped nearly 3%, whereas Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron experienced marginal declines between 0.2% and 0.4%.
The banking sector demonstrated strength: Sumitomo Mitsui Financial increased by 1.5%, Mizuho Financial rose nearly 3%, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial added more than 1% to its value.
Among major exporters, Canon fell by almost 1%, and Sony declined by over 1%. Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Electric and Panasonic posted gains ranging from 0.2% to 0.5%.
Significant decliners included Lasertec and Furukawa Electric, both dropping nearly 3%.
Conversely, companies like Fanuc, Yaskawa Electric, and Toho posted gains exceeding 5%, whereas Keyence increased by nearly 4%, and Dai-ichi Life advanced over 3%.
In economic developments, Japan's M2 money stock increased 3.2% year-over-year in December, as reported by the Bank of Japan on Wednesday. It stood at 1,257.7 trillion yen, surpassing expectations, as analysts had forecasted a stable 1.3%, consistent with the prior three months. The M3 money stock rose by 0.8% annually to 1,609.5 trillion yen, while M1 ascended by 1.3% to 1,096.5 trillion yen. The L money stock recorded a year-on-year increase of 3.7% to 2,195.6 trillion yen, following a 3.5% rise in the previous month.
In the foreign exchange market, the U.S. dollar was trading in the higher end of the 157-yen range on Wednesday.
Turning to Wall Street, stocks showed an inconsistency throughout the trading session on Tuesday, failing to maintain an early upward trend. The major indices fluctuated around the unchanged line, concluding with a mixed outcome.
Specifically, the tech-focused Nasdaq slipped by 43.71 points or 0.2%, settling at 19,044.39. Conversely, the S&P 500 increased slightly by 6.69 points or 0.1% to 5,842.91, while the Dow Jones rose by 221.16 points or 0.5% to 42,518.28.
European markets also exhibited mixed results. The FTSE 100 Index in the U.K. declined by 0.3%, the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.2%, whereas the German DAX Index rose by 0.7%.
Crude oil prices retreated from five-month highs on Tuesday, as investors redirected their attention to the potential effects of proposed tariffs on imports by Donald Trump. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February settled lower by $1.32, or about 1.67%, closing at $77.50 per barrel.
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