(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is declining on Wednesday and the safe-haven yen strengthened following the negative cues overnight from Wall Street amid lingering concerns about the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, weak local economic data weighed on sentiment.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is losing 251.20 points or 1.33 percent to 18,665.81, after touching a low of 18,517.47 earlier. Japanese stocks closed lower on Tuesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank is advancing more than 1 percent, while Fast Retailing is declining more than 1 percent.
The major exporters are lower on a stronger yen. Mitsubishi Electric is losing almost 2 percent, Sony is lower by more than 1 percent, Canon is down 0.5 percent and Panasonic is declining 0.6 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is lower by more than 3 percent and Tokyo Electron is down almost 1 percent.
In the oil sector, Inpex is down 0.2 percent, while Japan Petroleum is rising almost 3 percent after crude oil prices rebounded overnight.
Among the other major gainers, JFE Holdings is rising more than 3 percent and Nippon Steel is higher by almost 3 percent. NEC Corp., Sumitomo Heavy Industries and Sumitomo Metal Mining are advancing more than 2 percent each.
On the flip side, Nippon Suisan Kaisha is losing almost 8 percent and ANA Holdings is falling more than 7 percent. Nisshin Seifun Group and Nippon Sheet Glass are lower by more than 6 percent each.
On the economic front, the Bank of Japan's quarterly Tankan Survey on business sentiment showed that large manufacturing in Japan weakened again in the first quarter of 2020, with a diffusion index score of -8. That actually beat forecasts for a reading of -10, as expectations were very soft because of the global CoVID-19 pandemic. It was down from a score of 0 three months ago.
The latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed that the manufacturing sector in Japan continued to contract in March, and at a faster rate, with a manufacturing PMI score of 44.8. That's down from 47.8 in February and it slips further beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 107 yen-range on Wednesday.
On Wall Street, stocks recovered from initial weakness but moved back to the downside over the course of the trading session on Tuesday. Traders reacted positively to separate reports on consumer confidence and Chicago-area business activity, which showed deteriorations in March but still came in well above economist estimates. The pullback reflected lingering concerns about the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said confirmed cases in his state jumped to more than 75,000 overnight.
The Dow plunged 410.32 points or 1.8 percent to 21,917.16, the Nasdaq slumped 74.05 points or 1 percent to 7,700.10 and the S&P 500 tumbled 42.06 points or 1.6 percent to 2,584.59.
The major European markets all finished a volatile session in positive territory on Tuesday. While the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.4 percent, the German DAX Index jumped by 1.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index spiked by 2 percent.
Crude oil prices moved higher on Tuesday, rebounding after a sharp setback in the previous session that sent futures contract crashing to their lowest close in 18 years. WTI crude for May ended up $0.39, or 1.9 percent, at $20.48 a barrel.
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