The Japanese equity market advanced in volatile trading on Wednesday, recovering a portion of the steep declines recorded the previous session, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 index reclaiming the 28,000 level despite broader headwinds from U.S. markets. The rally followed the government’s tightening of pandemic restrictions after confirming the country’s first case of the Omicron variant.
Among heavyweight stocks, SoftBank Group fell more than 2%, while Fast Retailing, operator of the Uniqlo brand, slipped 0.4%. In the automotive segment, Honda rose over 2% and Toyota added more than 2%.
In the technology sector, Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron each edged up 0.2%, while Advantest gained nearly 1%.
Within the banking industry, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial each advanced 0.2%, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial increased almost 1%.
Among major exporters, Panasonic and Sony were flat, Mitsubishi Electric rose 0.5%, and Canon climbed nearly 2%.
Other notable gainers included Seiko Epson up nearly 5%, Toto, Fanuc, and Oji Holdings each rising about 4%, and Daikin Industries up more than 3%. Ricoh, Yaskawa Electric, NEC, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Mitsui Fudosan, Seven & I Holdings, Nippon Paper Industries, and Nippon Yusen K.K. each added around 3%.
Conversely, CyberAgent and Z Holdings each fell more than 3%.
In economic data, Japan’s manufacturing sector continued to expand in November, accelerating from the prior month, according to the Jibun Bank Purchasing Managers’ Index. The seasonally adjusted PMI rose to 54.5 from 53.2 in October, marking the strongest sector improvement since January 2018 and the tenth consecutive month of growth.
On the foreign exchange market, the U.S. dollar was trading around the mid‑113 yen range on Wednesday.
On Wall Street, equities retreated sharply on Tuesday, largely erasing the notable rebound seen in the prior session. The drop sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 to their lowest closing levels in at least a month.
The major indices continued to weaken into the close. The Dow fell 652.22 points, or 1.9%, to 34,483.72; the Nasdaq Composite dropped 245.14 points, or 1.6%, to 15,537.69; and the S&P 500 declined 88.27 points, or 1.9%, to 4,567.00.
European markets also moved lower on the day. The German DAX fell 1.2%, while the French CAC 40 and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively.
Crude oil futures tumbled sharply on Tuesday amid renewed concerns over oil and jet‑fuel demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for January settled down $3.77, or 5.4%, at $66.18 per barrel.
