(RTTNews) – The Japanese stock market has moved higher in two of three trading days since the end of the four-day losing streak in which it had plummeted more than 2,710 points or 5.6 percent. The Nikkei 225 now rests just above the 48,650-point plateau and it may pick up speed on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.
The Nikkei finished barely higher on Tuesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.
For the day, the index rose 33.64 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 48,659.52 after trading between 48,511.95 and 49,182.32.
Among the actives, Nissan Motor accelerated 1.24 percent, while Mazda Motor added 0.49 percent, Toyota Motor shed 0.65 percent, Honda Motor perked 0.19 percent, Softbank Group cratered 9.95 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial fell 0.31 percent, Mizuho Financial jumped 1.90 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial collected 0.18 percent, Mitsubishi Electric dipped 0.19 percent, Sony Group stumbled 2.64 percent, Panasonic Holdings climbed 1.01 percent and Hitachi was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday but then trended to the upside throughout the session, ending near daily highs.
The Dow surged 664.18 points or 1.43 percent to finish at 47,112.45, while the NASDAQ added 153.59 points or 0.67 percent to end at 23,025.59 and the S&P 500 climbed 60.76 points or 0.91 percent to close at 6,765.88.
The strength that emerged on Wall Street reflected renewed optimism about the outlook for interest rates following recent dovish comments from Federal Reserve officials as well as the latest U.S. economic data.
The Commerce Department said retail sales in the U.S. increased less than expected in September, while the Conference Board also released a report showing a substantial deterioration by U.S. consumer confidence in November.
Payroll processor ADP released a report showing U.S. private sector employers shed an average of 13,500 jobs per week in the four weeks ending November 8th compared to an average loss of 2,500 jobs in the previous four-week period.
CME Group’s FedWatch Tool indicates the chances the Fed will cut interest rates by another quarter point next month have surged to 82.7 percent from 50.1 percent a week ago.
Crude oil prices slumped on Tuesday on reports that a revised Russia-Ukraine peace plan has been accepted by Ukraine. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was down $0.96 or 1.61 percent at $57.89 per barrel.
Closer to home, Japan will see October numbers for producer prices and September results for its leading and coincident indexes later today. Producer prices are seen higher by 2.7 percent on year, easing from 3.0 percent in September. The leading index is expected to rise 1.0 percent on month, up from 0.9 percent in August, while the coincident is tipped to climb 1.8 percent after slipping 1.3 percent a month earlier.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
