There were periods when short-covering dominated, but the market struggled to extend gains in the afternoon. Although the Nikkei traded near its highs, it lacked momentum.
The Nikkei was shown at 61,142.35 as of 15:30, up 322.99, or 0.53%, from the previous day. Although short-covering emerged, the upside became heavy in the afternoon and price movements were limited.
In the US market, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was reported at 52,297.09 at the close, down 189.40, or 0.37%, while the Shanghai Composite fell to 3,655.82, down 24.81.
In the foreign exchange market, dollar-yen was reported to be trading around ¥159.89, with the figure shown as of 17:06.