The Nikkei Average is up 24 yen (as of 2:40 pm). In terms of contribution to the Nikkei Average, Advantest <6857>, TDK <6762>, Tokyo Electron <8035>, and others are among the top contributors, while First Retailing <9983>, Nidec Corporation sponsored ADR <6594>, and Toyota <7203> are among the top negative contributors. As for sectors, air transportation, mining, pharmaceuticals, services, and warehouse transportation are among the top gainers, while marine transportation, securities, commodity futures, real estate, and food are among the top decliners.

The Nikkei Average is moving back and forth around the previous day's closing price. In the US tonight, May's US housing starts, weekly US initial jobless claims, and June's Philadelphia Federal Reserve manufacturing index will be announced.