TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Reversing the losses in the previous two sessions, the Japanese market is notably higher in post-holiday trade on Friday, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving well above the 37,900 level, with gains is index heavyweights, financial and some technology stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 182.86 points or 0.48 percent to 37,934.74, after touching a high of 37,947.36 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly lower on Wednesday ahead of the holiday on Thursday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is edging down 0.1 percent, while Honda is adding almost 1 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is losing almost 1 percent, while Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron are gaining almost 1 percent each.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is gaining more than 3 percent, Mizuho Financial is adding almost 3 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is advancing almost 4 percent.
Among the major exporters, Sony is gaining almost 3 percent and Panasonic is advancing almost 2 percent, while Canon is losing almost 1 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is down more than 1 percent.
Among other major gainers, Mercari is surging more than 6 percent, while Mitsubishi Motors and BANDAI NAMCO are gaining almost 5 percent each. Sumitomo Electric Industries, Daiichi Sankyo and Yaskawa Electric are adding more than 3 percent each, while Fujikura is up almost 3 percent each.
Conversely, Recruit Holdings is losing almost 5 percent, Sumco is declining more than 4 percent, Kawasaki Heavy Industries is slipping almost 4 percent and Japan Steel Works is down almost 3 percent.
In economic news, Japan's core inflation slowed to 3 percent in February from 3.2 percent in January, but still exceeded forecasts of 2.9 percent. This is the second consecutive month inflation came in above expectations, strengthening the case for further interest rate hikes.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 149 yen-range on Friday.
On Wall Street, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Thursday after recovering from an initial move to the downside. The major averages swung back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing modestly lower.
The Nasdaq fell 59.16 points or 0.3 percent to 17,691.63 and the S&P 500 dipped 12.40 points or 0.2 percent to 5,662.89, while the narrower Dow posted an even more modest loss, edging down 11.31 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 41,953.32.
The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index tumbled 1.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index slumped by 1.0 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent.
Crude oil prices climbed higher on Thursday after the U.S. slapped fresh sanctions on Iran. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April closed higher by $1.10 or about 1.6 percent at $68.26 a barrel on the expiration day.
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