The Japanese stock market climbed into positive territory on Monday after opening lower on lingering concerns about the global economy. Financial and exporter stocks led the gainers. At 8.52 P.M. ET, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index was advancing 82.68 points or 0.64% to 13,102.09, while the broader Topix Index of all First Section Issues was adding 14.90 points to 1262.21. The Japanese stock market closed higher on Friday, buoyed by the overnight decline in crude oil prices, although the gains were capped by lingering concerns about the Japanese real estate sector. In addition, several investors were away for the "Bon" summer holidays in Japan. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 62.61 points or 0.48% to close at 13,019 and the Topix index moved up 8.38 points or 0.68% to finish at 1,247.31. The U.S. stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of a choppy trading session on Friday to close mixed as traders digested a continued decrease in commodities prices. The Dow and the S&P 500 closed in positive territory, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq posted a modest loss. After showing a significant decrease in the previous session, the price of oil saw further downside on Friday, with crude for September delivery closing down US$1.24 at US$113.77 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil has lost nearly US$35 from its record high of US$147.27 on July 11. On the economic front, the Bank of Japan is scheduled to begin a two-day policy board meeting from Monday. The central bank's policy board's assessment of the economy would be keenly watched in the backdrop of a series of gloomy economic news, including Japan's real gross domestic product shrinking 2.4% in the April-June quarter. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar was trading in the lower 110-yen range on Monday after hitting a seven-month high in the upper 110-yen range Friday in New York. In early trades on Monday, the dollar was quoted in a range of 110.28-110.30 yen, down 0.05 yen from Friday's close of 110.33-110.34 yen in Tokyo. In the financial space, Mizuho Financial gained 1.72%, Sumitomo Mitsui rose 2.05%, Resona Holdings jumped 3.45% and Mitsubishi UFJ climbed 3.55%. Among major exporters, electronics giant Sony advanced 1.07%, Toshiba added 1.32%, Canon gained 1.52% and Komatsu jumped 4.67%. Sony and Toshiba reportedly plan to boost their percentage of their LCD television sets made by Taiwanese manufacturers under outsourcing contracts in a bid to cut costs. Most of the tech stocks were also gaining. Advantest advanced 0.82%, Kyocera climbed 1.06%, Fanuc gained 1.27% and Matsushita Electrical Industrial added 0.86%, while NEC eased 0.39% and Fujitsu declined 0.73%. However, the auto sector was trading mixed. Toyota edged up 0.20%, Honda added 0.53% and Nissan gained 0.58%, while Mazda gave away 0.84% and Mitsubishi Motors was unchanged. Suzuki climbed 1.91% after a report said the company plans to develop cars that run completely on bio ethanol and release them in the U.S. by around 2010. Real estate stocks Nomura Real Estate Holdings advanced 1.13% and Mitsui Fudosan climbed 2.42%. Among oil-related stocks, oil explorer Inpex Holdings edged down 0.36%, Nippon Oil rose 3.12% and Showa Shell gained 2.14%.