Win Streak May Continue For Japan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market has finished higher in consecutive trading days, soaring almost 2,250 points or 4.2 percent in that span. The Nikkei 225 now sits just beneath the 53,750-point plateau and it may extend its gains again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on easing oil prices and some optimism for a ceasefire in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The Nikkei finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.

For the day, the index spiked 1,497.34 points or 2.87 percent to finish at 53,749.62 after trading between 53,015.80 and 54,022.88. Among the actives, Nissan Motor accelerated 2.47 percent, while Mazda Motor jumped 1.82 percent, Toyota Motor rallied 2.05 percent, Honda Motor climbed 1.04 percent, Softbank Group surged 7.90 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial collected 3.01 percent, Mizuho Financial spiked 4.25 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial vaulted 3.17 percent, Mitsubishi Electric soared 5.00 percent, Sony Group advanced 1.05 percent, Panasonic Holdings improved 2.92 percent and Hitachi strengthened 1.48 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and spent the whole day in the green.

The Dow jumped 305.43 points or 0.66 percent to finish at 46,429.49, while the NASDAQ climbed 167.93 points or 0.77 percent to end at 21.929.83 and the S&P 500 gained 35.53 points or 0.54 percent to close at 6,591.90.

The early strength on Wall Street came amid a sharp pullback by the price of crude oil, with international benchmark Brent crude futures slumping by 1.7 percent after surging in the previous session.

Crude oil prices slumped Wednesday on reports of negotiations to end the war between the U.S. and Iran, easing transport concerns via the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was down $2.22 or 2.40 percent at $90.13 per barrel.

However, buying interest was partly offset by a report from Iran's state-linked media Fars News Agency claiming Iran will not accept the ceasefire offer from the U.S.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department said U.S. import and export prices increased by much more than expected in February.

Closer to home, Japan will on Thursday release February figures for producer prices later this morning. Producer prices are expected to hold steady, higher by 2.6 percent on year.

Japan also will see January results for its leading and coincident indexes. The leading index is expected to rise 2.1 percent on month after adding 1.1 percent in December. The coincident is tipped to add 2.5 percent on month after slipping 0.6 percent in the previous month.