FX.co ★ Japanese Market Slightly Higher

The Japanese stock market experienced slight gains on Monday, extending the positive momentum from the previous session. The S&P/ASX 200 index has edged just above the 39,000 mark, reflecting generally positive signals from Wall Street on Friday. Gains in key sectors such as technology and major index stocks were somewhat tempered by weaknesses in financial stocks.

The Nikkei 225 Index increased by 27.11 points, or 0.07%, reaching 39,008.86, after climbing to a high of 39,048.44 earlier. Japanese equities finished the previous week on a modestly higher note.

Leading market player SoftBank Group saw a small increase of 0.3%, while Fast Retailing, the company behind Uniqlo, declined by nearly 1%. Among automobile manufacturers, Honda increased by almost 1%, and Toyota rose by 0.4%.

In the technology sector, Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron reported gains of 0.3% to 0.4%, and Advantest rose by over 1%.

Financial institutions faced downward pressure, with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial dropping nearly 2%, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial decreasing by over 1%, and Mizuho Financial slipping by 0.5%.

Most major exporters enjoyed increases. Sony and Mitsubishi Electric both rose by 0.5%, Panasonic climbed close to 1%, while Canon saw a slight decline of 0.5%.

Notable gainers included Rakuten Group, which climbed nearly 4%, and M3, which added more than 3%. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha and LY advanced by approximately 3%.

On the downside, Sumitomo Pharma dropped over 4%, while Tokyo Electric Power and NEC each declined by around 3%.

In the foreign exchange market, the U.S. dollar was trading within the lower 149-yen range on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks generally moved higher during Friday's session, following a relatively stable performance the previous day. The Nasdaq, heavily weighted with technology stocks, led the upward trend, while the Dow concluded the day with a modest increase, hitting a new record high.

The Nasdaq rose by 115.94 points, or 0.6%, to 18,489.55, and the S&P 500 gained 23.20 points, or 0.4%, reaching a new record closing high of 5,864.67. Despite an initial dip, the Dow rose by 36.86 points, or 0.1%, closing at 43,275.91.

In Europe, major stock markets showed mixed results on the trading day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index declined by 0.3%, whereas the French CAC 40 Index and German DAX Index both increased by 0.4%.

Crude oil prices declined on Friday, responding to downward revisions in demand forecasts from OPEC and the International Energy Agency. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for November fell by $1.45, or 2.05%, to $69.22 per barrel, with weekly losses exceeding 8%.