On Monday, the Japanese shares turned higher due to strength in Wall Street from its previous session. In addition, the energy and technology stocks also registered healthy gains. On the contrary, the insurance and the banks were down, which had a negative effect on the market.
Nikkei share average, which highlights the average gain/loss of shares on the Nikkei index, increased by 0.65%. When checked last time, this index closed around 26405 points. As for the Topix, it increased by 0.24% and touched 1902.52.
It seems that the Japanese shares market got its strength from the US equities, which closed a good week. But for the most part, trading activity was very quiet as the European and US traders were on holiday.
The highlight of the day was Uniqlo, whose shares increased by 2.0%, while Tokyo Electron saw a gain of 2.22%. Similarly, Daikin Industries, which is a famous air-conditioning maker, saw its shares climb by 1.39%. As for the oil markets, the associated companies also saw a good increase on the back of the increased oil prices.
Overall, around 158 stocks on the Nikkei index gained a good upside, while 60 stocks were down for the day. A close at the traded shares volume reveals that it was close to 0.85 billion.
Upon looking at the average value in the past 1 month, it is usually close to 1.25 billion. That's an indication that the volume in the Japanese markets was a little lower than average. Once again, this has to do with the holiday season, as most of the big players are still not back to trading.
Some people may question the link between US equities with the Japanese stock markets. Well, it has to do with the market sentiment as a whole. Considering the world has become so interconnected, even small changes in one country can have big impacts in other countries as well.
In addition, the USA is a major economy and any upside in its stock markets can have good effects on other markets as well.