(RTTNews) - The stock market in Japan ended in positive territory on Friday, taking cues from Wall Street, where the major averages ended sharply higher following GDP numbers for third quarter which confirmed that the world’s largest economy is out of the recession with a better than expected 3.5% growth in the quarter.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index gained 143.64 points, or 1.45%, to 10,035, and the broader Topix index of all First Section issues was up 12.41 points, or 1.41%, to 895.

On the economic front, a report released by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said that average household spending rose 1.0% year-over-year in September, which was in line with expectations. The report further noted that wage earner household spending rose 0.6% year-over-year, and the propensity to consume rose to 86.5% in September in comparison with 81.7% in August.

In a separate report, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said that the unemployment rate came in at a seasonally adjusted 5.3% in September, down from 5.5% reported for the previous month. Analysts expected the unemployment rate to come at 5.6%.

Light sweet crude oil futures for December delivery ended at $8.03 a barrel in electronic trading, up $0.16 per barrel from previous close at $79.87 a barrel in New York on Thursday.

Almost all the sectors witnessed gains on increasing optimism about global economic recovery.

Among automotive stocks, Toyota Motor gained 2.52%, Suzuki Motor advanced 2.29%, Nissan Motor surged up 4.84%, Isuzu Motors rose 2.59%, Hino Motors added 1.48% and Mazda Motor added 0.96%.

Exporters also ended in positive territory on expectation of recovery in global demand for its products. Canon gained 1.73%, Sharp Corp. advanced 2.48% and Sony Corp. rose 2.77%.

Trading companies also ended in positive territory. Mitsubishi Corp. rose 3.56%, Mitsui & Co., advanced 2.43%, Toyota Tsusho Corp. gained 2.15%, Sumitomo Corp. climbed 2.86% and Marubeni Corp. ascended 3.86%.

Large banks also ended in positive territory on optimism about recovery. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial gained 1.43%, Mizuho Financial rose 1.67%, Resona Holdings added 1.11% and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial edged up 0.32%.

In the U.S., stocks rose by substantial margins on Thursday, as the day’s upbeat third quarter GDP report generated risk appetite and drove traders to fund a rally in the stock market. The major averages all finished firmly in positive territory, partly offsetting their recent losses. The Dow closed up by 199.89 points or 2.1% at 9,963, the Nasdaq advanced by 37.94 points or 1.8% to 2,098 and the S&P 500 rose by 23.48 points or 2.3% to 1,066.

For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com

Copyright(c) 2009 RTTNews.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Posted in Categories: Japan, Releases, Stocks, USA.

Subscribe by RSS Subscribe by Email