Japanese Market Modestly Lower

The Japanese stock market is modestly lower on Wednesday, giving up some of the gains in the previous two sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling well below the 39,700 level, with losses in index heavyweights and financial stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 134.04 or 0.34 percent at 39,639.09, after hitting a low of 39,535.23 earlier. Japanese stocks ended significantly higher on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging down 0.3 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is declining almost 2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing almost 1 percent and Toyota is declining more than 1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is losing almost 1 percent and Screen Holdings is edging down 0.1 percent, while Tokyo Electron is edging up 0.5 percent.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial is edging down 0.4 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are losing almost 1 percent each.

Among the major exporters, Sony and Panasonic are edging up 0.1 to 0.3 percent each, while Canon and Mitsubishi Electric are edging down 0.1 to 0.4 percent each.

Among other major losers, ZOZO is losing more than 3 percent, while Mercari and Isuzu Motors are declining almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Tokyo Gas and Tokyo Electric Power are advancing more than 4 percent each, while Japan Steel Works is gaining almost 4 percent and Mitsui Mining & Smelting is adding more than 3 percent.

In economic news, producer prices in Japan were up 0.2 percent on month in March, the Bank of Japan or BoJ said on Wednesday. That was shy of expectations for an increase of 0.3 percent and was unchanged from the February reading. On a yearly basis, producer prices rose 0.8 percent – matching forecasts and up from 0.7 percent in the previous month.

Export prices rose 0.3 percent on month and 1.0 percent on year, the bank said, while import prices stumbled 0.5 percent on month and 6.9 percent on year.

The BoJ also said the value of overall bank lending in Japan was up 3.2 percent on year in March, coming in at 619.566 trillion yen. That exceeded expectations for an increase of 3.1 percent and was up from 3.0 percent in February. For the first quarter of 2024, overall bank lending was up 3.1 percent on year.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 151 yen-range on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks saw considerable volatility over the course of the trading session on Tuesday, following the lackluster performance seen on Monday. The major averages fluctuated as the day progressed, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 eventually closing in positive territory.

While the Nasdaq rose 52.68 points or 0.3 percent to 16,306.64 and the S&P 500 inched up 7.52 points or 0.1 percent to 5,209.91, the narrower Dow ended the day slightly lower, edging down 9.13 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 38,883.67.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index tumbled 1.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index slumped by 0.9 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent.

Crude oil prices fell on Tuesday, slumping for a second straight session as traders assessed the prospect of meaningful progress in Gaza ceasefire talks. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May sank $1.20 or 1.4 percent at $85.23 a barrel.

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