Nikkei, Yen, Hang Seng: Stocks in Asia are rising again after significant losses the day before

The Asian stock markets are recovering after the heavy losses from the previous day. However, investors remain cautious ahead of the upcoming reporting season and the US midterm elections.

A Nikkei display board (archive): After the sell-off on Thursday, the Asian stock markets started the day with a recovery. Photo: AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko

Tokyo, Beijing. Asian stock markets have recovered after Thursday's sharp sell-off. Japan's Nikkei index is rising after a six-day losing streak. However, gains are limited as investors remain cautious ahead of the upcoming earnings season and the US midterm elections.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei index, which includes 225 values, rose 1.8 percent to 65,550 points

The broader Topix is trading 1.8 percent higher at 4072 points.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange gained 0.8 percent to 3,737 points.

The CSI 300 index with the 300 most important Chinese companies on the mainland stock exchanges rose by 0.6 percent to 4,189 points.

"Stocks are recovering as investors return to trading after sharp losses the previous day. There are no other reasons for the gains," said Daisuke Hashizume, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities. "Market participants see little reason to aggressively buy stocks ahead of the company's earnings release and the U.S. midterm elections next month."

In Japan, shares of chip supplier Tokyo Electron rose by 2.12 percent, those of memory chip manufacturer Kioxia rose by 3.34 percent and those of technology investor SoftBank Group rose by 1.3 percent. The shares of chip test supplier Advantest made up for their initial losses and rose by 0.64 percent.

BayCurrent shot up 17.25 percent, making it the strongest percentage gainer on the Nikkei. The consulting firm had previously announced that it would use excess cash for investments and share buybacks. Bank stocks supported the Topix. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group rose 1.64 and 1.71 percent, respectively.

In Asian foreign exchange trading, the dollar gained slightly to 158.00 yen and moved up slightly to 0.82 francs against the Swiss currency. At the same time, the euro remained almost unchanged at 1.12 dollars and rose slightly to 0.93 francs.

Oil prices fell slightly in the morning. Investors are weighing risks in the Middle East and possible U.S. moves to ease restrictions on the global "shadow fleet" of tankers. Brent crude oil from the North Sea fell by 0.4 percent to $105.45 per barrel (159 liters). US oil WTI was 0.7 percent weaker at $97.29.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) agreed on Thursday to put more than 20 million barrels of diesel on the market. The remaining oil from a record release of emergency reserves promised in March is also to be released in order to increase supply and curb the sharp rise in prices. The administration of US President Donald Trump is also considering lifting sanctions on some ships in the so-called shadow fleet in order to reduce record-high global freight rates.