Japanese Equities Expected to Edge Higher at Monday’s Session

Japanese equities have risen for several consecutive sessions, adding nearly 1,750 points, or about 2.6%, and the Nikkei 225 is now just above the 68,550 level, suggesting further upside on Monday.

The global outlook for Asian markets remains cautiously optimistic, driven by robust technology stocks and easing crude oil prices. European markets showed mixed performance while U.S. indices were modestly higher, positioning Asian markets to find a middle ground.

The Nikkei posted a sharp gain on Friday, buoyed by advances in financials, technology, and automobile stocks.

On the day, the index rose 813.88 points, or 1.20%, closing at 68,557.73 after trading between 68,271.91 and 69,374.86.

Wall Street’s lead points to modest upside, as major indices recovered from a sluggish start and ended near their session highs.

The Dow added 149.60 points, or 0.29%, to 52,637.01; the NASDAQ gained 74.72 points, or 0.29%, to 26,281.61; and the S&P 500 increased 31.75 points, or 0.42%, to 7,575.39.

Over the week, the tech‑heavy NASDAQ rose 1.7%, the S&P 500 climbed 1.2%, and the Dow advanced 0.5%.

The rally was driven in part by strong performance from major tech names such as Meta Platforms (META), Nvidia (NVDA), and the U.S. listing of SK Hynix.

Traders remained hesitant to take larger positions ahead of the unofficial earnings season, with companies like Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), UnitedHealth (UNH), and Netflix (NFLX) scheduled to report results.

Crude oil prices fell on Friday as third‑party mediators sought to revive U.S.-Iran negotiations; West Texas Intermediate August futures slipped $0.75, or 1.04%, to $71.33 per barrel.

Source link