Nikkei May Reclaim 50,000-Point Level On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, advancing more than 560 points or 1.1 percent along the way. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 49,860-point plateau and it may pick up steam on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses was mild upside and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Nikkei finished sharply higher on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.

For the day, the index rallied 561.28 points or 1.14 percent to finish at 49,864.68 after trading between 49,521.23 and 50,138.60. Among the actives, Nissan Motor tumbled 1.89 percent, while Mazda Motor added 0.63 percent, Toyota Motor retreated 1.31 percent, Honda Motor sank 0.76 percent, Softbank Group surged 6.38 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial tanked 2.12 percent, Mizuho Financial slumped 1.30 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial collected 0.30 percent, Mitsubishi Electric advanced 0.91 percent, Sony Group dropped 1.22 percent, Panasonic Holdings spiked 2.13 percent and Hitachi fell 0.33 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened in the red but quickly moved higher and continued to pick up speed through the day, ending near session highs.

The Dow jumped 408.44 points or 0.86 percent to finish at 47,882.90, while the NASDAQ added 40.42 points or 0.17 percent to close at 23,454.09 and the S&P 500 gained 20.35 points or 0.30 percent to end at 6,849.72.

The strength in the broader markets followed the release of a report from payroll processor ADP showing an unexpected decrease by private sector employment in November.

The data added to recently renewed optimism that the Federal Reserve will once again lower interest rates at its monetary policy meeting next week.

CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating an 89.0 percent chance the Fed will cut rates by another quarter point next week.

Crude oil prices rose on Wednesday as proposed Russia-Ukraine peace talks failed to deliver a breakthrough. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was up $0.23 or 0.39 percent at $58.87 per barrel.