(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market on Thursday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 850 points or 1.3 percent to a record closing high. The Nikkei sits just above the 62,550-point plateau although it may rebound again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, with technology stocks expected to pull the markets higher. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.
The Nikkei finished sharply lower on Thursday as losses from the financials and technology stocks were mitigated by support from the automobile producers.
For the day, the index dropped 618.06 points or 0.98 percent to finish at 62,654.05 after trading between 62,654.05 and 63,799.32. Among the actives, Nissan Motor rose 0.36 percent, while Mazda Motor skidded 1.06 percent, Toyota Motor accelerated 2.33 percent, Honda Motor spiked 3.77 percent, Softbank Group plunged 4.03 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial retreated 1.69 percent, Mizuho Financial dropped 0.94 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial tanked 3.02 percent, Mitsubishi Electric shed 0.49 percent, Sony Group plummeted 5.90 percent, Panasonic Holdings rallied 3.11 percent and Hitachi slumped 1.66 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and remained in the green throughout the trading day, ending near session highs.
The Dow jumped 370.26 points or 0.75 percent to finish at 50,063.46, while the NASDAQ rallied 232.88 points or 0.88 percent to end at a record 26,635.22 and the S&P 500 gained 56.99 points or 0.77 percent to close at 7,501.24, also a record.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) helped lead the markets higher after the company reported better than expected fiscal third quarter results and provided upbeat guidance.
Market leader and AI darling Nvidia (NVDA) also surged on reports that the U.S. has cleared around 10 Chinese firms to buy the company's second-most powerful AI chip, the H200.
In economic news, the Commerce Department said retail sales in the U.S. increased in line with estimates in April. Also, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week.
Crude oil prices inched higher on Thursday as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively shut amid a lack of progress in U.S.-Iran peace efforts. West Texas Intermediate crude for June was up $0.29 or 0.29 percent at $101.31 per barrel.
Closer to home, Japan will release April numbers for producer prices later today, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 0.7 percent on month and 3.0 percent on year. That follows the 0.8 percent monthly increase and the 2.6 percent annual gain in March.
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