Japanese Market Modestly Lower
(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is modestly lower on Thursday, extending the losses in the previous five sessions, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 falling below the 29,500 level, following the broadly negative cues overnight from Wall Street, with weakness across most sectors. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is losing 201.82 points or 0.68 percent to 29,486.51, after hitting a low of 29,469.83 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly lower on Wednesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is declining almost 2 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is edging down 0.3 percent and Honda is losing almost 2 percent. In the tech space, Advantest is losing almost 2 percent, Screen Holdings is edging down 0.2 percent and Tokyo Electron is flat.
In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing almost 2 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is down more than 1 percent and Mizuho Financial is declining 1.5 percent.
The major exporters are mostly higher. Panasonic, Sony and Mitsubishi Electric are edging up 0.2 percent each, while Canon is edging down 0.3 percent. Among the other major losers, Eisai and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha is plunging more than 7 percent each, while Impex is declining almost 6 percent and Nippon Yusen K.K. is losing more than 5 percent. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines is down almost 4 percent and Seven & I Holdings is slipping 3.5 percent, while Kyowa Kirin, Dowa Holdings and Idemitsu Kosan are sliding more than 3 percent each.
Conversely, CyberAgent is surging more than 7 percent and Rakuten Group is gaining more than 3 percent, while Dai Nippon Printing, Nexon Recruit Holdings, and Sumitomo Electric Industries are up more than 2 percent each. In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the 114 yen-range on Thursday.
On Wall Street, stocks saw modest weakness during trading on Wednesday, giving back ground after ending the previous session mostly higher. Selling pressure was somewhat subdued, however, limiting the downside for the major averages.
The major averages fluctuated over the course of the session but closed in negative territory. The Dow slid 211.17 points or 0.6 percent to 35,931.05, the Nasdaq fell 52.28 points or 0.3 percent to 15,921.57 and the S&P 500 dipped 12.23 points or 0.3 percent to 4,688.67.
Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.5 percent, the German DAX Index closed just above the unchanged line and the French CAC 40 Index inched up by 0.1 percent.
Crude oil prices declined sharply on Wednesday as data showing a larger than expected drop in gasoline stocks last week led to speculation the Biden administration might consider releasing more oil from emergency reserves. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended down by $2.40 or about 3 percent at $78.36 a barrel, the lowest settlement in more than a month.
