Japanese Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is trading modestly higher on Tuesday after opening well in the red, reversing the losses in the previous session, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 67,400 level, with by gains in automakers, financial and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 165.53 points or 0.25 percent at 67,408.26, after hitting a low of 66,268.60 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply lower on Monday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging up 0.2 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing almost 2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining almost 2 percent and Toyota is adding almost 1 percent.

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

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are edging up 0.3 percent each, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is advancing almost 1 percent.

The major exporters are mixed. Mitsubishi Electric is losing more than 1 percent and Panasonic is slipping more than 4 percent, while Sony is gaining almost 2 percent and Canon is adding more than 2 percent..

Among the other major gainers, Sumco is jumping more than 6 percent, while Oriental Land and Dentsu Group are surging almost 5 percent each. Shiseido is advancing more than 4 percent, Eisai is gaining almost 4 percent and Nitto Denko is adding more than 3 percent, while BayCurrent, Kobe Steel and Kuraray are up almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Yaskawa Electric is tumbling almost 8 percent and Fujikura is declining almost 7 percent, while SMC, Ebara, ARCHION, Amada and Furukawa Electric are losing more than 3 percent each. Japan Steel Works and Fanuc are down almost 2 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 162 yen-range on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks showed a notable move to the downside during trading on Monday, giving back ground following the upward move seen over the two previous sessions. The major averages all moved lower, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq showing a significant pullback.

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 ended the day just off their lows of the session. The Nasdaq slumped 408.43 points or 1.6 percent to 25,873.18 and the S&P 500 slid 60.05 points or 0.8 percent to 7,515.34. The narrower Dow posted a more modest loss, dipping 138.37 points or 0.3 percent to 52,498.64.

Meanwhile, the major European markets finished a choppy trading day slightly higher. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index closed just above the unchanged line, the German DAX Index crept up by 0.2 percent and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices skyrocketed on Monday amid intense attacks between the U.S. and Iran over the weekend, renewing Middle East tensions. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was up $6.87 or 9.62 percent at $78.28 per barrel.