The Japanese stock market is sharply lower on Tuesday, extending the losses in the previous three sessions, with the benchmark Nikkei index falling below the 26,400 level, following the lack of cues from Wall Street overnight, with traders remaining cautious and continuing to track the rising geopolitical tension between Russia and Ukraine.
Traders also remain concerned about the domestic coronavirus cases, though the daily new cases are off their record highs.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is losing 537.68 points or 2.00 percent to 26,373.19, after hitting a low of 26,305.28 earlier. Japanese shares closed significantly lower on Monday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 1 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is declining almost 3 percent. Among automakers, Honda and Toyota are losing almost 2 percent each.
In the tech space, Advantest and Screen Holdings are losing more than 5 percent each, while Tokyo Electron is down almost 4 percent. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are losing more than 1 percent each.
The major exporters are lower. Panasonic is losing almost 2 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is down more than 1 percent, Canon is slipping almost 4 percent and Sony is down more than 2 percent.
Among the other major losers, Sharp is plunging almost 8 percent, while Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Sumco and Kikkoman are slipping more than 5 percent each. Nippon Express Holdings and Yokohama Rubber are losing almost 5 percent, while Alps Alpine, AGC, Mitsubishi Motors, Isuzu Motors, Mazda Motor and Nissan Motor are siding more than 4 percent each.
Conversely, Daiichi Sankyo is soaring more than 10 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 114 yen-range on Tuesday.
On Wall Street, the markets were off on Monday for the President’s Day holiday and will return to action on Tuesday.
The major European markets were mixed in cautious trade on the day The German DAX was up 0.1 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.2 percent, while France’s CAC 40 index slipped 0.3 percent.
Crude oil prices were subdued on Monday as global leaders push for a diplomatic solution to Russia-Ukraine crisis. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended lower by 0.3 percent at $89.98 a barrel.
Market Analysis
Japanese Market Sharply Lower
2022-02-22 02:25:53
