Japan Shares Have Positive Lead For Monday

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market has finished higher in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day losing streak in which it had tumbled almost 1,500 points or 3.2 percent. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 49,500-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, with technology and oil stocks expected to lead the markets higher. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The Nikkei finished sharply higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares and automobile producers, while the technology stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index rallied 505.71 points or 1.03 percent to finish at 49,507.21 after trading between 49,257.15 and 49,766.96. Among the actives, Nissan Motor added 0.43 percent, while Mazda Motor accelerated 4.04 percent, Toyota Motor jumped 1.81 percent, Honda Motor advanced 0.91 percent, Softbank Group surged 6.14 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial collected 0.84 percent, Mizuho Financial gained 0.46 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial rallied 2.20 percent, Mitsubishi Electric climbed 1.39 percent, Sony Group retreated 1.53 percent, Panasonic Holdings slumped 1.45 percent and Hitachi vaulted 2.06 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened firmly higher on Friday and remained in the green throughout the trading day.

The Dow jumped 183.04 points or 0.38 percent to finish at 48,134.89, while the NASDAQ rallied 301.26 points or 1.31 percent to end at 23,307.62 and the S&P 500 gained 59.74 points or 0.88 percent to close at 6,834.50.

For the week, the Dow slid 0.7 percent, the NASDAQ added 0.5 percent and the S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent.

The continued strength on Wall Street came amid sharp gains from the technology shares thanks to solid earnings news and easing concerns of a tech bubble.

In U.S. economic news, the National Association of Realtors reported a modest increase by existing home sales in the U.S. in November. Also, the University of Michigan said consumer sentiment in the U.S. rebounded less than expected in December.

Crude oil increased on Friday amid concerns of a supply side disruption due to brewing U.S.-Venezuela tensions. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was up by $0.47 or 0.84 percent at $56.62 per barrel.