The Japanese stock market is modestly lower in choppy trading on Wednesday, extending the sharp losses in the previous three sessions, with the benchmark Nikkei index below the 29,700 level, as continued worries about potential collapse of China’s real estate firm Evergrande dented sentiment, even as traders remain concerned about the domestic coronavirus situation.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan will wrap up its monetary policy meeting on Wednesday and then announce its decision on interest rates. The bank is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate steady at -0.1 percent, although other forms of stimulus may be introduced. Traders’ speculation on the likely central bank commentary on the domestic economic and foreign trade scenario also impacted sentiment.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 29,665.42, down 174.29 points or 0.58 percent, after hitting a low of 29,573.88 earlier. Japanese stocks closed sharply lower on Tuesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing more than 1 percent and Toyota is down almost 1 percent.
In the tech space, Screen Holdings is edging up 0.3 percent, while Advantest and Tokyo Electron are edging down 0.3 percent each.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging down 0.5 percent and Mizuho Financial are down more than 1 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is gaining more than 2 percent.
Among the major exporters, Panasonic is edging up 0.5 percent and Sony is gaining almost 1 percent, while Canon and Mitsubishi Electric are losing more than 1 percent each.
Among the other major losers, Marubeni, Sumco, Tokai Carbon, Citizen Watch and Daikin Industries are all losing more than 3 percent each, while Itochu, Taiyo Yuden, Fanuc, Mitsui Mining & Smelting, Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Japan Steel Works, Shizuoka Bank, Mitsui & Co. and Hitachi Construction Machinery are down almost 3 percent each.
Conversely, SKY Perfect JSAT is gaining more than 3 percent, while Mitsui Fudosan, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha are gaining more than 2 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 109 yen-range on Wednesday.
On Wall Street, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Tuesday following the sell-off seen during trading on Monday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before closing narrowly mixed.
While the Nasdaq rose 32.50 points or 0.2 percent to 14,746.40, the Dow dipped 50.63 points or 0.2 percent to 33,919.84 and the S&P 500 edged down 3.54 points or 0.1 percent to 4,354.19. The Dow ended the session at its lowest closing level in three months.
Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index jumped by 1.1 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index surged up by 1.4 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.
Crude oil prices moved higher Tuesday, ahead of weekly U.S. crude inventories data. But gains were just modest as traders weighed global energy demand prospects amid the surge in coronavirus cases in the U.S. and several other countries. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October settled at $70.56 a barrel on the expiration day, gaining $0.27 or 0.4 percent in the session.
Market Analysis
Japanese Market Modestly Lower
2021-09-22 03:45:06
