(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, sinking more than 1,200 points or 2 percent in that span. The Nikkei now sits just above the 59,280-point plateau although it's expected to see support on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, thanks to strong earnings news and receding crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher on Thursday and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.
The Nikkei finished sharply lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares and automobile producers, while the technology companies were mixed.
For the day, the index slumped 632.54 points or 1.06 percent to finish at 59,284.92 after trading between 58,928.20 and 59,560.57. Among the actives, Nissan Motor tumbled 1.79 percent, while Mazda Motor tanked 2.60 percent, Toyota Motor crashed 2.86 percent, Honda Motor retreated 2.09 percent, Softbank Group dropped 2.93 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial stumbled 2.02 percent, Mizuho Financial plunged 3.09 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial contracted 2.41 percent, Mitsubishi Electric rallied 2.52 percent, Sony Group plummeted 3.74 percent, Panasonic Holdings surged 4.64 percent and Hitachi cratered 3.27 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened mixed but quickly tracked higher throughout the day, ending at session highs.
The Dow rallied 790.33 points or 1.62 percent to finish at 49,652.14, while the NASDAQ added 219.07 points or 0.89 percent to end at a record 24,892.31 and the S&P 500 gained 73.06 points or 1.02 percent to close at 7,209.01, also a record.
The markets were spurred by strong earnings news from the likes of Caterpillar (CAT), Qualcomm (QCOM) and Alphabet (GOOGL).
Traders also kept an eye on the price of crude oil, which pulled back sharply after soaring to its highest levels in four years.
Crude oil prices came under pressure on Thursday, reflecting profit taking amid ongoing concerns about the Middle East conflict. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was down $2.40 or 2.3 percent at $104.48 a barrel.
Closer to home, Japan will release April figures for Tokyo inflation later this morning; in March, overall Tokyo inflation was up 1.4 percent on year and core CPI climbed 1.7 percent.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
