Japan Bourse May Extend Wednesday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market on Wednesday ended the two-day slide in which it had slipped more than 125 points or 0.3 percent. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 41,170-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism for trade deals. The European and U.S. markets were solidly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The Nikkei finished sharply higher on Wednesday with gains across the board, especially the automobile producers, financial shares and technology stocks.

For the day, the index surged 1,396 points or 3.51 percent to finish at 41,171.32 after trading between 40,087.86 and 41,342.59.

Among the actives, Nissan Motor surged 8.28 percent, while Mazda Motor skyrocketed 17.77 percent, Toyota Motor accelerated 14.34 percent, Honda Motor soared 11.15 percent, Softbank Group improved 2.38 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial jumped 4.88 percent, Mizuho Financial rallied 5.21 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial collected 5.06 percent, Mitsubishi Electric advanced 2.18 percent, Sony Group strengthened 4.32 percent, Panasonic Holdings gained 5.83 percent and Hitachi added 0.91 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is strong as the major averages opened with modest gains on Wednesday but continued to climb as the day progressed, ending at session highs.

The Dow surged 507.85 points or 1.14 percent to finish at 45,010.29, while the NASDAQ jumped 127.33 points or 0.61 percent to close at a record 21,020.02 and the S&P 500 gained 49.29 points or 0.78 percent to end at 6,358.91, also a record.

The strength on Wall Street came after President Donald Trump announced trade deals with Japan and the Philippines.

The announcement of these trade deals spurred expectations of further trade agreements as the Aug. 1 deadline nears.

On the U.S. economic front, a report released by the National Association of Realtors showed existing home sales in the U.S. pulled back by more than expected in the month of June.

Crude oil prices dipped slightly on Wednesday as uncertainty persists in U.S. trade talks ahead of the deadline. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery eased $0.06 to $65.25 per barrel.

Closer to home, Japan will see July numbers for the manufacturing and services PMIs from Jibun Bank later this morning; in June, their scores were 50.1 and 51.7, respectively.