Japan Markets Surge; Nikkei Up Over 2%

Japanese stocks were trading higher on Thursday, as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to reduce crude production by over 3 percent. The Nikkei 225 climbed 383 percent, or 2.09 points to 18,691.50, and the TOPIX rose 1.68 percent, or 24.6 points to 1,494.01.

iShares MSCI Japan ETF EWJ shares fell 0.16 percent to close at $49.89, while iShares MSCI Pacific ex-Japan Idx (ETF) EPP dropped 0.73 percent to close at $41.05 on Wednesday.

The U.S. dollar increased around 1.9 percent against the Japanese yen to trade at 114.53.

West Texas Intermediate for January delivery rose 0.44 percent to trade at $49.66 per barrel on the NYMEX, while Brent for January settlement rose 8.78 percent to $50.45 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange.

U.S. markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday, with the Dow gaining 0.01 percent to 19,123.58, and the NASDAQ dropping 1.05 percent to 5,323.68.

Top market movers among the Japanese market are as follows:

• Shares of Kozosushi Co Ltd (9973) climbed around 35 percent to 115.0 JPY.
• Maruman & Co Ltd (7834) shares rose around 29 percent to 303.0 JPY.
• Daito Chemix Corp (4366) shares increased over 20 percent to 602.0 JPY.

• Japan Asia Investment Co Ltd (8518) shares dropped around 8 percent to 634.0 JPY.
• Pixel Companyz Inc (2743) declined over 8 percent to 755.0 JPY.
• Ascot Corp (3264) shares fell 7 percent to 676.0 JPY.