Japanese Market Notably Lower

The Japanese stock market is notably lower on Tuesday, extending the slight loss in the previous session, with the benchmark Nikkei index staying above the 30,000 mark, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with investors being cautious as they awaited a vote on Wednesday that will decide who will be country’s next prime minister after incumbent Yoshihide Suga. The domestic coronavirus situation is also a cause of worry, despite the recent decline in case count.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is losing 144.50 points or 0.48 percent to 30,095.56, after hitting a low of 30,001.99 earlier. Japanese shares closed slightly lower on Monday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 1 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is up more than 2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining almost 2 percent and Toyota is edging up 0.2 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 4 percent, while Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron are losing more than 2 percent each. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is gaining almost 1 percent, while Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are edging up 0.3 percent each.

The major exporters are mixed, with Sony declining almost 1 percent, while Canon is gaining 1.5 percent. Mitsubishi Electric and Panasonic are flat.

Among the other major losers, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha is plummeting more than 15 percent, Nippon Yusen K.K. is plunging more than 11 percent, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines is losing more than 9 percent, M3 is down almost 4 percent and Taiyo Yuden is declining more than 3 percent. Nissan Chemical, CyberAgent, Shionogi & Co., Hitachi Zosen, Toho Zinc, Kikkoman and Yaskawa Electric are lower by almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Impex is gaining 3.5 percent, Eisai is adding more than 3 percent and Credit Saison is up almost 3 percent.

In economic news, members of the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy board felt that while the country’s economy continues to improve, it remains in dire straits because of the Covid-19 pandemic, minutes from the central bank’s meeting on July 15 and 16 revealed on Tuesday. Global financial markets remain unsettled but are trending in the right direction as vaccinations fuel a broadly based economic recovery, the minutes showed.

The members also said they would continue the monetary easing for as long as necessary in order to consistently achieve the 2 percent inflation target. At the meeting, the BoJ decided to keep its monetary stimulus unchanged and unveiled a preliminary outline for the new program to support efforts on climate change.

The bank also lowered its near-term growth outlook citing the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and raised its fiscal 2021 inflation forecast. The board also voted to hold the interest rate at -0.1 percent on current accounts that financial institutions maintain at the central bank.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the 111 yen-range on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks ended on a mixed note on Monday with investors largely making cautious moves as they looked ahead to speeches from several Fed officials, including Chairman Jerome Powell, and continued to keep an eye on the developments surrounding debt-laden China Evergrande.

Among the major averages, the Dow, which rose to 35,061 by mid morning, closed with a gain of 71.37 point or 0.21 percent at 34,869.37. The S&P 500, moved between 4,436.19 and 4,457.30, settled with a loss of 12.37 points or 0.28 percent at 4,443.11, while the Nasdaq settled at 14,969.97, losing 77.73 points or 0.52 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets closed slightly higher on the day. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 gained 0.17 percent, Germany’s DAX climbed 0.27 percent and France’s CAC 40 moved up 0.19 percent.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Monday, extending gains to a fifth session amid tighter supplies and signs of rising demand for oil. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended up by $1.47 or 2 percent at $75.45 a barrel.

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