Japanese Market Sharply Higher

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is sharply higher on Tuesday, recouping some of the losses in the previous two sessions, with the Nikkei 225 moving to nearly the 26,200 level, following the positive cues from European markets overnight, with gains in heavyweight stocks and technology stocks. Traders are also cautious as the Bank of Japan kicks off a two-day monetary policy meeting.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 355.62 points or 1.38 percent at 26,177.94 after touching a high of 26,198.69 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply lower on Monday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding more than 3 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining more than 2 percent and Toyota is adding almost 3 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 3 percent, Tokyo Electron is adding almost 3 percent and Screen Holdings is up more than 2 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging up 0.2 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each.

The major exporters are higher. Canon and Mitsubishi Electric are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Panasonic and Sony are adding almost 2 percent each. Among the other major gainers, Taiyo Yuden and Mitsubishi Motors are gaining more than 4 percent each, while Resonac Holdings and Mazda Motor are adding almost 4 percent each. Yaskawa Electric, Nissan Motor, Denso and Yamaha Motor are up more than 3 percent each, while Z Holdings, Alps Alpine, Suzuki Motor and Nippon Sheet Glass are advancing almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Chiba Bank is losing almost 3 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 128 yen-range on Tuesday.

The Wall Street was closed on account of Martin Luther King Jr. day holiday on Monday. The shares closed notably higher on Friday.

The major European markets moved to the upside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 advanced 0.2 percent, Germany's DAX surged 0.31 percent and France's CAC 40 climbed 0.28 percent.