(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is trading firm on Friday with the overnight rally on Wall Street on the back of a better-than-expected GDP growth prompting investors to grab stocks. Improvement in Japan’s unemployment rate and ratio of job offers to job seekers are also aiding sentiment to a notable extent. Bargain hunting after previous session’s sharp losses is aiding the cause of several front line stocks in morning trades.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which surged to 10,032.4 in early trades, is currently up 121.1 points, or 1.23%, at 10,012. On Thursday, the Nikkei had closed at 9,891.1, recording a loss of 184 points, or 1.8%.

Food, chemicals and pharmaceuticals stocks are mostly trading higher. Steel and non-ferrous metals are also trading firm.

Machinery stocks Komatsu, Hitachi Construction Machinery, JTEKT Corp. and Japan Steel Works are trading with notable gains. Most of the front line stocks in the electric machinery space are trading in positive territory.

Among automobile stocks, Toyota Motor, Honda Motor, Nissan Motor and Suzuki Motor are trading higher, while Mitsubishi Motor and Mazda Motor are trading flat.

Japan Airlines Corp. shares moved higher in early trades after Transport Minister Seiji Maehara said the previous evening that the ailing carrier will receive help from the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corporation of Japan. However, facing stiff resistance at higher levels, the stock has drifted down and is currently trading around Thursday’s closing price of 115 yen.

Shares of camera maker Olympus Corp. bounced back from a three-day slide Friday morning, on reports the company likely posted a group operating profit of about 28 billion yen for the April-September half. Olympus had earlier forecast a 19 billion yen operating profit for the half year. The stock is currently trading more than 8% up on its previous close.

Softbank Corp. shares moved higher following the company reporting strong earnings results for the six months through September. The stock, despite trading off its high, is currently up 2% over Thursday’s closing price.

Among economic news, Japan’s jobless rate unexpectedly dropped to a four-month low in September, adding to signs that a recovery in the world’s second-largest economy is spreading to consumers. The unemployment rate declined to 5.3% from 5.5% in August, the statistics bureau said Friday morning.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the mid-91 yen level early Friday in Tokyo, up slightly from its overnight quotes in New York. In early trades, the dollar fetched 91.50-91.51 yen against Thursday’s close of 91.37-91.47 yen in New York and 90.65-90.66 yen in Tokyo. The yen is currently trading at 91.36 to the U.S. dollar.

Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia and Singapore are up sharply. Shanghai, New Zealand, Korea and Taiwan are also trading firm. Markets across the region had ended notably lower on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks rallied sharply on Thursday with buoyant third-quarter GDP growth generating risk appetite and driving traders to go on a buying spree. The major averages all finished firmly in positive territory, partly offsetting their recent losses.

The Commerce Department said its advance estimate showed that GDP increased at an annual rate of 3.5% in the third quarter compared to a 0.7% decrease in the second quarter. Economists had been expecting GDP to increase by 3.2%.

The Dow closed up nearly 200 points, or 2.1%, 9,962.6, the Nasdaq advanced by about 38 points, or 1.8%, to 2,097.6 and the S&P 500 moved up 23.5 points, or 2.3%, to 1,066.1.

Major European markets closed notably higher on Thursday. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 gained 1.1%, while the French CAC 40 index and the German DAX index gained 1.4% and 1.7% respectively.

Crude oil surged on Thursday but failed to hold above US$80 per barrel. Prices were boosted by a better-than-forecast gross domestic product report and some mixed jobs data. Light sweet crude oil for December delivery rose to US$79.87 per barrel, up US$2.41 on the session.

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Posted in Categories: Australia, Eurozone, Japan, New Zealand, Releases, Stocks, USA.

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