Japanese Market Sharply Higher

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is sharply higher on Wednesday, recouping the losses in the previous session, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 27,400 level, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, with gains across most sectors, led by energy and technology stocks, amid easing concerns about the crisis in the global banking sector.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 516.69 or 1.92 percent at 27,462.36, after touching a high of 27,478.47 earlier. Japanese stocks ended sharply lower on Monday ahead of the Vernal Equinox holiday on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining almost 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is up almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is adding almost 3 percent and Toyota is gaining almost 2 percent.

In the tech space, Screen Holdings is gaining more than 1 percent, Advantest is adding almost 2 percent and Tokyo Electron is up more than 2 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is gaining almost 3 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is adding almost 4 percent and Mizuho Financial is up more more than 3 percent.

Among the major exporters, Canon and Sony are up almost 1 percent each, while Panasonic is adding more than 1 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is advancing more than 2 percent.

Among the other major gainers, Ebara is gaining 5.5 percent and Daiichi Sankyo is adding almost 5 percent, while CyberAgent, Keyence, Daiwa Securities and TDK are advancing more than 4 percent each. Nomura Holdings, Nidec, Nissan Motor, Orix, Dai-ichi Life, and Minebea Mitsumi are up almost 4 percent each, while Fukuoka Financial and MS&AD Insurance are rising more than 3 percent each.

Conversely, there are no major losers.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 132 yen-range on Wednesday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading session on Tuesday, extending the upward move seen during trading on Monday. The major averages all showed strong moves to the upside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq reaching its best closing level in over a month.

The major averages pulled back off their best levels going into the close but held on to strong gains. The Dow jumped 316.02 points or 1.0 percent to 32,560.60, the Nasdaq surged 184.57 points or 1.6 percent to 11,860.11 and the S&P 500 shot up 51.30 points or 1.3 percent at 4,002.87.

The major European markets also showed strong moves to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.4 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both shot up by 1.8 percent.

Crude oil prices climbed higher Tuesday, gaining for a second straight session amid improving risk sentiment thanks to the coordinated efforts by major central banks to rescue troubled U.S. and European lenders. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended higher by $1.69 or 2.5 percent at $69.33 a barrel.