Japan’s stock market showed a strong rebound on Thursday, following a brief pause the previous day that ended a three-day rally. The Nikkei 225 index had surged by nearly 750 points, or 2%, during that period. As of Thursday, the index stood just above 38,430 points, with analysts predicting it will maintain its upward trajectory on Friday.
Global market outlooks are mixed, with tariff-related concerns continuing to impact sentiment. While European stock markets closed lower and U.S. stocks ended the day in positive territory, Asian markets are expected to take diverging paths.
The Nikkei index posted significant gains on Thursday, driven by strong performances in financial, technology, and automobile stocks. The index fluctuated between 38,035.32 and 38,454.07 points, ultimately closing up 710.58 points, or 1.88%, at 38,432.98 points.
Key Stock Movements
Among the top-performing stocks, Nissan Motor Co. rose 5.95%, Mazda Motor Co. gained 3.28%, Toyota Motor Corp. increased 3.91%, and Honda Motor Co. climbed 4.62%. SoftBank Group saw an uptick of 1.38%, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial surged by 2.14%. Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial also saw gains of 0.65% and 1.54%, respectively. Notable advancements were also seen in Mitsubishi Electric (+1.48%), Sony Group (+3.90%), Panasonic Holdings (+4.01%), and Hitachi (+2.85%).
U.S. Stock Performance
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets experienced a positive session. Major indexes opened higher, dipped during midday, but rebounded in the afternoon to close in the green. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 117.03 points, or 0.28%, to finish at 42,215.73. The Nasdaq Composite gained 74.93 points, or 0.39%, closing at 19,175.87. The S&P 500 climbed 23.62 points, or 0.40%, to settle at 5,912.17.
Early gains were attributed to news that a U.S. federal court had blocked the implementation of reciprocal tariffs proposed by President Donald Trump on imports from U.S. trade partners. However, the Trump administration quickly appealed the ruling, and by late afternoon, an appellate court temporarily halted the lower court’s decision.
NVIDIA (NVDA) also reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings, exceeding both revenue and profit forecasts. The positive response to NVIDIA’s results contributed to Wall Street’s initial gains.
Oil Market Concerns
In the oil market, concerns over potential supply disruptions continued to weigh heavily, particularly with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) signaling that it could accelerate production increases in July. As a result, oil futures dropped significantly on Thursday. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for July delivery decreased by $0.90, or 1.5%, settling at $60.94 per barrel.
Domestic Economic Data in Japan
On the domestic front, Japan is set to release several key economic indicators, including April’s unemployment rate, industrial production, retail sales, construction orders, housing starts, and May’s inflation data for Tokyo.
The unemployment rate is expected to remain steady at 2.5%, while the job-to-applicant ratio is forecast to hold at 1.26. Industrial production is anticipated to decrease by 1.4% month-over-month, following a slight 0.2% increase in March. Retail sales are expected to grow by 2.9% year-over-year, slightly lower than the 3.1% increase observed in March.
Construction orders are expected to fall by 0.5% year-over-year, a sharp contrast to the 3.5% growth recorded in March. Housing starts are forecasted to decline by 18.2%, following a significant 39.1% rise in the previous month. In Tokyo, the overall inflation rate for April is expected to rise by 3.5% year-over-year, with the core Consumer Price Index (CPI) increasing by 3.4%.
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