Japanese Market Sharply Higher

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is trading sharply higher on Tuesday, reversing some of the sharp losses in the previous sessions, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is surging more than 3 percent to above the 54,350 level, with gains across most sectors led by exporters and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 1,637.39 points or 3.11 percent at 54,366.11, after touching a high of 54,413.82 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply lower on Monday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 3 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding almost 3 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining 1.5 percent and Toyota is adding almost 3 percent.

In the tech space, Tokyo Electron is advancing more than 4 percent, Advantest is surging more than 5 percent and Screen Holdings is gaining almost 4 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is gaining almost 3 percent, Mizuho Financial is advancing more than 4 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is adding more than 2 percent.

The major exporters are higher. Mitsubishi Electric is gaining almost 3 percent, Canon is adding almost 1 percent, Panasonic is up more than 1 percent and Sony is advancing more than 2 percent.

Among the other major gainers, Lasertec and Sumitomo Electric Industries are soaring more than 12 percent each, while Furukawa Electric is jumping almost 9 percent, Fujikura is surging almost 8 percent and Ibiden is rising more than 6 percent. Disco, Komatsu and Toyota Tsusho are advancing almost 6 percent each, while Mitsubishi Materials and Mitsui Kinzoku are up more than 5 percent each. Marubeni, Toto, Sumitomo Metal Mining and Kanadevia are adding almost 5 percent each.

Conversely, SHIFT is losing more than 5 percent and BayCurrent is declining more than 3 percent.

In economic news, Japan's GDP grew 0.3 percent on quarter in fourth quarter 2025, higher than the flash estimate of 0.1 percent and in line with market expectations. The reading followed a 0.7 percent contraction in the third quarter.

Japan's nominal wages rose 3 percent on year in January 2026, accelerating from a 2.4 percent gain in December and surpassing market expectations of 2.5 percent. This was also the fastest pace of growth in six months.

Household spending in Japan fell 1 percent on year in January 2026, easing from a 2.6 percent decline in the previous month but contrary to market expectations of a 2.5 percent increase. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, personal spending dropped 2.5 percent, following a downwardly revised 2.9 percent decline in December

Japan's economy advanced at an annualized pace of 1.3 percent in fourth quarter of 2025, much stronger than the initial estimate of a 0.2 percent expansion and slightly above market forecasts of 1.2 percent. The revised figure marked a rebound from a 2.6 percent contraction in the third quarter.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 157-yen range on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply lower in early trading on Monday but showed a substantial turnaround over the course of the session. The major averages climbed well off their worst levels and into positive territory, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the recovery.

The major averages surged in the final hour of trading, closing not far off their highs. The Nasdaq jumped 308.27 points or 1.4 percent to 22,695.95, the S&P 500 advanced 55.96 points or 0.8 percent to 6,795.99 and the Dow climbed 239.25 points or 0.5 percent to 47,740.80.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the downside on the day. The French CAC 40 Index slumped by 1.0 percent, the German DAX Index slid by 0.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices gave back ground over the course of the trading day on Monday after skyrocketing early in the session amid concerns about supply disruptions due to the conflict in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery surged $3.11 or 3.42 percent to $94.01 a barrel.