FX.co ★ Japanese Market Slightly Higher

On Tuesday, the Japanese stock market experienced a modest uptick, building on gains from the previous session. The Nikkei 225 slightly surpassed the 39,200 mark despite generally negative signals from Wall Street overnight, driven by advances in major index components, exporters, and technology stocks.

The Nikkei 225 index increased by 46.20 points or 0.12 percent, reaching 39,206.70, after having peaked at 39,465.14 earlier in the day. On Monday, Japanese stocks posted moderate gains.

Key market entity SoftBank Group rose by 0.3 percent, while Fast Retailing, the operator of Uniqlo, saw a decline of over 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda increased by 2.5 percent, and Toyota added over 1 percent.

Within the technology sector, Screen Holdings climbed 2.5 percent, while Tokyo Electron gained more than 2 percent, with Advantest remaining stable.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial saw a slight decrease of 0.1 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial dropped nearly 1 percent, whereas Mizuho Financial edged up by 0.2 percent.

Exporters generally performed well. Panasonic advanced more than 3 percent, Sony climbed over 4 percent, and Mitsubishi Electric rose nearly 2 percent, while Canon saw a slight decline of 0.1 percent.

In terms of notable gainers, Omron, Shiseido, and Sumitomo Metal Mining surged nearly 5 percent each. Toto, Marubeni, Yaskawa Electric, and Sumitomo Pharma all advanced by more than 4 percent each. Fanuc, Suzuki Motor, and Mitsui & Co. increased by nearly 4 percent each, while Mitsui Mining & Smelting, Mitsubishi Materials, and Sumco gained over 3 percent each.

Conversely, Fujikura experienced a decline of more than 5 percent, and DeNA fell nearly 3 percent.

In economic updates, the Bank of Japan reported that the M2 money stock rose by 1.2 percent year-on-year in November, aligning with expectations and remaining unchanged from the previous two months, standing at 1,255.0 trillion yen. The M3 money stock increased by 0.7 percent annually for the third consecutive month, at 1,605.7 trillion yen. The L money stock rose 3.2 percent year-on-year to 2,184.6 trillion yen, up from a 3.1 percent increase the month before.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded within the lower 151 yen range on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks generally trended downward throughout Monday's trading session, following a period of indecisiveness earlier in the day. All major averages moved lower, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 retreating from Friday's record closing highs.

Major indices ended firmly in negative territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 240.59 points or 0.5 percent to 44,401.93, the Nasdaq declined by 123.08 points or 0.6 percent to 19,736.69, and the S&P 500 dropped by 37.42 points or 0.6 percent to 6,052.85.

Across the Atlantic, European stocks ended mostly higher. The French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.7 percent, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.5 percent, though the German DAX Index decreased by 0.2 percent, deviating from the upward trend.

Crude oil prices increased amid geopolitical tensions and optimism regarding potential monetary policy easing by the Chinese central bank to stimulate economic growth. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January finished the day higher, up $1.17 or 1.74 percent, closing at $68.37 per barrel.