The Japanese stock market is modestly lower on Tuesday, extending the sharp losses in the previous two sessions, with the Nikkei 225 staying above the 25,100 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, on inflation concerns amid the spike in crude oil prices and as traders continues to monitor developments surrounding the escalating Russia-Ukraine crisis.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 97.14 points or 0.39 percent at 25,124.27, after hitting a low of 24,890.22 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply higher on Monday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is down almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging down 0.3 percent and Toyota is flat.
In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 1 percent, while Tokyo Electron and Screen Holdings are edging up 0.3 percent each. In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is losing more than 4 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are declining more than 2 percent each.
The major exporters are mostly higher, with Panasonic and Canon gaining more than 1 percent each, while Sony is adding almost 2 percent. Mitsubishi Electric is losing more than 3 percent.
Among the other major losers, Hino Motors is plunging more than 12 percent, Toho Zinc is sliding more than 10 percent and Idemitsu Kosan is sliding almost 7 percent, while Inpex, Dowa Holdings and Sumitomo Metal Mining are losing more than 5 percent each. Shiseido, Nippon Light Metal, ENEOS Holdings, Sojitz, Marubeni, JFE Holdings and Tokyo Electric Power are down almost 5 percent each, while Suzuki Motor and Mitsui Mining & Smelting are lower by more than 4 percent each.
Conversely, AGC is gaining more than 5 percent and Fanuc is up more than 4 percent, while CyberAgent, Keyence, Nippon Express and M3 are adding almost 4 percent each. Konami Holdings, Ricoh, Sharp, Z Holdings and Kikkoman are advancing almost 3 percent each.
In economic news, Japan posted a current account deficit of 1,188.7 billion yen in January, the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday. That missed expectations for a shortfall of 880.2 billion yen following the 370.8 billion yen deficit in December. Imports were up 39.9 percent on year at 8,166.3 billion yen, while exports climbed an annual 15.2 percent to 6,562.0 billion yen for a trade deficit of 1,604.3 billion yen. The capital account posted a deficit of 9.3 billion yen, while the financial account saw a surplus of 1,239.0 billion yen.
Further, the value of overall bank lending in Japan was up 0.4 percent on year in February, the Bank of Japan said on Tuesday – coming in at 580.048 billion yen. That follows the downwardly revised 0.5 percent increase in January (originally 0.6 percent).
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the mid-115 yen-range on Tuesday.
On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day on Monday, extending the downward move seen over the two previous sessions. The major averages all showed substantial moves to the downside on the day.
The major averages saw further downside going into the close, ending the session at their worst levels of the session. The Dow plunged 797.42 points or 2.4 percent to 32,817.38, the Nasdaq plummeted 482.48 points or 3.6 percent to 12,830.96 and the S&P 500 tumbled 127.78 points or 3 percent to 4,201.09.
The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index slumped by 1.3 percent and the German DAX Index plunged by 2 percent.
Crude oil futures surged on Monday amid rising concerns over global oil supplies amid talks the U.S. and its Western allies are likely to impose a ban on Russian oil. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended higher by $3.72 or 3.2 percent at $119.40 a barrel.
Market Analysis
Japanese Market Modestly Lower
2022-03-08 02:24:21
