Japan Financial News

Japanese nuclear safety regulators are lifting an operational ban imposed on a plant owned by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, the operator behind the Fukushima disaster

World shares have advanced, tracking gains on Wall Street after markets there reopened following Monday's holiday

Sensex rallied over 700 points on Wednesday to scale the 72,000 mark for the first time. Nifty, too, hit a fresh all-time peak of 21,654.75 amid all-round buying in banks, auto, metals and IT stocks. The market rally was broad-based but Nifty's 1% rise left smallcap and midcap indices behind as investors found more value in bluechips after the non-stop rally seen in smaller stocks. UltraTech Cement ended over 4% higher, along with other cement stocks, after Nomura upgraded the sectoral outlook. Among bluechips, Hindalco and Bajaj Auto ended 4% higher while heavyweight HDFC Bank advanced 1%. The combined market capitalisation of all BSE-listed stocks rose by Rs 2.5 lakh crore to Rs 361.4 lakh crore. Here are the key factors behind today's rally:

China has launched its first automated digital yuan wallet-opening machine for overseas passport holders.

Investing.com-- Japanese and Indian stock markets were the top performers in Asia through 2023, with a dovish Bank of Japan and optimism over the Indian economy acting as key points of support.

Toyota Motor's global production jumped 11 per cent in November to a record level, bouncing back from last year's supply chain disruptions and benefiting from robust demand both in Japan and overseas. Output for November climbed to 926,573 vehicles, while worldwide sales increased 14 per cent from a year earlier when shortages of semiconductors plagued automakers globally. Both figures include Toyota's Lexus luxury brand.

TOKYO (Reuters) — Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM)'s global production jumped 11% in November to a record level, bouncing back from last year's supply chain disruptions and benefiting from robust demand both in Japan and overseas.

Investing.com-- Most Asian currencies stuck to a tight range on Wednesday, while the dollar languished near five-month lows amid persistent bets that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates early in 2024. 

Shares in SoftBank Group Corp jumped 5% on Wednesday after the Japanese tech conglomerate said it would receive shares in telco T-Mobile US worth some $7.59 billion at no additional cost. Masayoshi Son's conglomerate said late on Tuesday it had told T-Mobile US to issue 48.75 million shares in common stock to it after conditions set out in an agreement made as part of the merger of SoftBank's U.S. telco Sprint and T-Mobile were met. The transaction bolsters the listed assets in SoftBank's portfolio, doubling its T-Mobile US stake to 7.64% from 3.75% currently, following the blockbuster listing of chip designer Arm in September. «This increases the proportion of listed, measurable equity in hand on (SoftBank Group's) balance sheet, and, even better, proportions of marginable equity relative to indebtedness,» Macquarie analyst Paul Golding wrote in a client note. SoftBank's shares have gained only around 14% year-to-date, compared with an almost 30% rise in the benchmark index.

By Sam Nussey

By Rae Wee

Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks rose on Wednesday, tracking a rally on Wall Street as investors cheered the prospect of early interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, while Chinese shares lagged on a bleak economic outlook.

Sensex gained 229.84 points, or 0.32%, to close at 71,336.80, while the Nifty 50 settled 91.95 points, or 0.43%, higher at 21,441.35. “We expect markets to be in a range with positive bias and end the year on a positive note. While there is lack of significant triggers and in the absence of any major events due holiday season.

By Leika Kihara

NEW DELHI : The ministry of earth sciences plans to set up two high-performance computers (HPCs) in Noida and Pune to enhance weather forecasting accuracy, in the face of shifting weather patterns leading to increasing instances of extreme rainfall. “None of the weather prediction models anticipated the 90cm rainfall witnessed in the Kayalpatnam municipality in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu last week. Prediction of weather in tropical regions is difficult because of dynamic changes it undergoes in comparison to weather in higher latitudes," earth sciences secretary M.

NEW DELHI : India is working on guidelines for strategic trilateral partnerships to maximize the impact of developmental projects in its neighbourhood and beyond in collaboration with other countries, said people aware of the matter. India has partnered with the UK, the US, France, Japan, and Germany to implement developmental projects in India’s neighbouring regions and key nations in Southeast Asia and Africa. While India has traditionally favoured bilateral developmental projects for ease of coordination, and established political relationships with the recipient countries, it is now exploring collaborations with a select group of countries.

EKA Mobility has formed a strategic partnership with Japan’s Mitsui & Company and Netherlands-based VDL Groep to manufacture electric buses and light commercial vehicles in the country. As per the agreement, Mitsui and VDL together will invest $100 million (approx Rs 830 crore) in EKA Mobility for ‘significant’ minority stakes. The resources will be utilized to scale up research and development and enhance manufacturing capacity. EKA Mobility, which commissioned a production unit in Pune earlier this year, plans to scale up production capacity to roll out 5000 electric buses and 6000 light commercial vehicles per annum in the first phase.

Xi Jinping has promoted two naval officers, including a submarine expert, as top naval commanders which involves the Chinese navy's operations in the disputed South China Sea. Xi, who is also the chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC), the overall high command of the armed forces besides being the President and head of the ruling Communist Party, has presented certificates of order to promote two military officers to the rank of General, official media reported on Tuesday. General is the highest rank for officers in active service in China.

In a remarkable surge, Bitcoin has reached $43,499, marking a 0.71 percent increase on Tuesday. This notable ascent can be largely attributed to the burgeoning interest in Spot Bitcoin ETFs, which are poised to surpass the combined inflows of all 150 crypto ETPs currently in the market.

By Rae Wee

Investing.com-- Most Asian currencies moved in a tight range on Tuesday, while the dollar hovered near five-month lows as soft U.S. inflation data spurred increasing bets on interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve in 2024.