Japan’s Stocks Are Rising

Japan’s stocks rose after the close on Wednesday, led by gains in the Communication, Machinery, and Transportation Equipment sectors.

The Nikkei 225 closed up 0.35% in Tokyo, reaching a new one-month high.

Dai Nippon Printing Co was the best performer on the Nikkei 225, rising 14.81% or 387.00 points to trade at 3,000.00 at the close. Suzuki Motor Corp. (TYO:7269) gained 5.62% or 251.00 points to close at 4,720.0.

Advantest Corp. (TYO:6857) was the session’s worst performer, falling 1.11% or 110.00 points to close at 9,840.00. Itochu Corp. (TYO:8001) fell 1.00%, or 42.00 points, to 4,161.00, while SKY Perfect JSAT Holdings Inc. (TYO:9412) fell 0.99%.

On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, rising stocks outnumbered declining ones by a margin of 2291 to 1246, with 306 remaining unchanged.

The Nikkei Volatility Index, which measures implied volatility in Nikkei 225 options, rose 0.91% to 17.69.

Crude oil for March delivery rose 0.16% or 0.13 percent to $80.26 per barrel. In other commodities trading, Brent oil for March delivery rose 0.33% or 0.28 to $86.41 per barrel. Meanwhile, the February Gold Futures contract fell 0.32% or 6.25 to $1,929.15 per troy ounce.

The USD/JPY pair gained 0.20% to 130.41, while the EUR/JPY pair gained 0.36% to 142.12.

The US Dollar Index Futures were 0.01% lower at 101.67.

European Market Movements

On Wednesday, European stocks were little changed, ending a strong rally that started the year as investors scrutinized earnings reports for signs that slowing economic growth is weighing on corporate results.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was down less than 0.1%. Microsoft Corp.’s revenue growth in its Azure cloud-computing business will slow in the current period. The company warned of further slowing in corporate software sales.

ASML Holding NV fell among individual movers as export controls threatened growth, despite forecasting better-than-expected first-quarter sales due to strong demand for its advanced chip-making machines. EasyJet is performing well after bookings continued to be strong in the second quarter.

European stocks are off to a flying start this year, with the Stoxx 600 poised for its best January gain since 2015, thanks to lower natural gas prices, lower inflation, and China’s reopening. Nonetheless, some investors are hesitant to chase the rally because they see too much optimism, with the Stoxx 600’s 14-day relative strength index reaching overbought territory last week.

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