The Japanese stock market opened higher on Tuesday, ending the longest losing streak in seven months, after the market got a boost from better-than-expected results of the much-anticipated Tankan business confidence survey by the Bank of Japan.
At 9.31 pm ET, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index was gaining 62.60 points or 0.46% to 13,543.98, while the broader Topix index of all First Section Issues was adding 8.88 points to 1,328.98.
The Bank of Japan's latest "Tankan" survey showed that confidence among the nation's largest manufacturers fell less than analysts expected. According to the survey, optimism about business conditions among managers of large-size companies in Japan fell in the April to June quarter compared to the previous quarter. The survey's top-line diffusion index registered a reading of 5, compared to a reading of 11 in March. The figure marks the percentage of companies saying business conditions are good, minus those saying conditions are unfavorable. Most economists were forecasting a decline to 3 in the diffusion index.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average closed lower for an eighth straight session on Monday, falling by 62.98 points or 0.5% to close at 13,481.38, while the Topix index dropped 0.58 points or 0.04% to settle at 1,320.10. The Nikkei has shed over 970 points in the past eight sessions.
U.S. stocks ended a choppy session mixed on Monday, as investors kept a close watch on the price of oil after it set another record intraday high. The markets saw initial weakness, as the price of oil soared to a new record high in electronic trading. However, buying interest picked up as oil prices pulled back well off of their best levels of the day.
Crude oil prices for August delivery lost US$0.21 to settle at US$140.00 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday. In early electronic trading, the contract hit a record US$143.67.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar was trading in the lower 106-yen range on Tuesday. In early trades, the dollar was quoted at 106.15-106.20 yen, up 0.83 yen from Monday's close of 105.32-105.33 yen in Tokyo.
In the auto sector, Honda was up 2.49% after Nomura Holdings raised its rating on the company's stock. Meanwhile, Toyota rose 2.00%, Nissan Motors added 0.80%, Mitsubishi Motors advanced 1.04% and Mazda climbed 1.09%.
The big banks also moved to higher ground, as Sumitomo Mitsui advanced 0.63%, Mizuho Financial gained 0.81% and Mitsubishi UFJ climbed 1.28%.
Most of the tech stocks were trading higher. Fujitsu added 0.63%, Kyocera gained 0.70%, Matsushita Electric Industrial rose 2.18% and NEC advanced 1.26%, while Advantest eased 0.89%. Fanuc lost 3.38% after UBS AG recommended selling shares of the company for the next three months citing a slowing global economy. Electronics giant Sony declined 0.63%, while Canon added 0.37% and Nikon gained 1.29%.
Oil stock Nippon Oil rose 2.10% and Showa Shell improved 0.26%, while Inpex holdings remained unchanged.
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