The Japanese stock market is trading significantly lower on Monday, giving up the gains in the previous session. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling well below the 39,200 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday, with weakness across most sectors led by index heavyweights and technology stocks. The rising geopolitical tensions in the middle-east weighed on sentiment.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 396.00 or 1.00 percent at 39,127.55, after hitting a low of 38,820.95 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly higher on Friday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is down more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is declining more than 2 percent and Toyota is losing more than 1 percent.
In the tech space, Screen Holdings is declining more than 2 percent, Advantest is down 2.5 percent and Tokyo Electron is losing almost 2 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is losing almost 1 percent, Mizuho Financial is edging down 0.5 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is slipping more than 1 percent.
The major exporters are mostly lower. Canon is edging down 0.2 percent, Panasonic is losing 1.5 percent and Sony is declining more than 2 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric is edging up 0.4 percent
Among other major losers, Takashimaya is plunging more than 6 percent, Astellas Pharma is slipping almost 6 percent and Socionext is sliding almost 5 percent, while M3, Ebara, Rakuten Group, Toyota Tsusho and Mercari are losing more than 3 percent each. Lasertec, Disco, Sumitomo Pharma and Sapporo Holdings are declining almost 3 percent each.
Conversely, Mitsubishi Materials is gaining more than 3 percent, while Mitsui Mining & Smelting and Tokyo Electric Power are adding almost 3 percent each.
In economic news, the value of core machine orders in Japan jumped by a seasonally adjusted 7.7 percent on month in February, the Cabinet Office said on Monday – coming in at 886.6 billion yen. That blew away expectations for an increase of 0.8 percent following the 1.7 percent drop in January.
On a yearly basis, core machine orders slipped 1.8 percent – but that also beat forecasts for a decline of 5.0 percent after slumping 10.9 percent in the previous month. For the first quarter of 2024, core machine orders are seen higher by 4.9 percent on quarter and down 0.1 percent on year at 2,637.4 billion yen.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 153 yen-range on Monday.
On Wall Street, stocks closed sharply lower on Friday, as geopolitical tensions, inflation worries and mixed earnings and guidance from major banks rendered the mood a bit bearish.
The major averages all ended in the red. The Dow ended with a loss of 475.84 points or 1.24 percent at 37,983.24. The S&P 500 drifted down 75.65 points or 1.46 percent to 5,123.41, while the Nasdaq settled at 16,175.09 with a loss of 267.10 points or 1.62 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets ended mixed. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.91 percent, while Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 ended lower by 0.13 percent and 0.16 percent, respectively.
Crude oil prices moved higher on Friday amid concerns about the outlook for supply due to rising tensions in the Middle East between Iran and Israel. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended higher by $0.64 at $85.66 a barrel.
Market Analysis
Japanese Market Significantly Lower
2024-04-15 02:19:58
