Japanese Market Sharply Lower

The Japanese stock market is sharply lower on Wednesday, giving up some of the strong gains in the previous session, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling to be a tad above the 34,000 mark, with traders picking up stocks at a bargain after that recent sell-off.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 639.66 or 1.84 percent at 34,035.80, after hitting a low of 33,739.46 earlier. Japanese stocks ended sharply higher on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 6 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining more than 2 percent and Toyota is adding more than 1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is edging down 0.1 percent and Screen Holdings is losing almost 1 percent, while Tokyo Electron is gaining almost 2 percent.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial is soaring more than 8 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is surging almost 9 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is skyrocketing almost 11 percent.

Among the major exporters, Canon is soaring almost 10 percent, Panasonic is gaining almost 2 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is adding almost 5 percent, while Sony is edging down 0.5 percent.

Among other major gainers, Disco is skyrocketing more than 13 percent and Nichirei is soaring more than 12 percent, while Canon and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are surging almost 11 percent each. Tokyo Electric Power is gaining more than 10 percent and Tokio Marine is adding more than 9 percent, while Resona Holdings, Fujikura and Nissui are up almost 9 percent each. Yokogawa Electric is rising more than 8 percent, while Sumitomo and Socionext are advancing almost 8 percent each.

Conversely, Daikin Industries plummeting more than 10 percent and Ricoh is plunging more than 7 percent, while NTT Data and Mitsui Chemicals are declining more than 6 percent each. Furukawa Electric is losing more than 5 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 146 yen-range on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks closed higher on Tuesday, recovering well after three successive days of losses, as investors shrugged off fears of a recession and geopolitical concerns, and chose to indulge in some buying at reduced levels. Investors also reacted positively to the latest batch of corporate earnings news.

The major averages all closed on a firm note. The Dow ended up 294.39 points or 0.76 percent at 38,997.66. The S&P 500 closed up by $53.70 points or 1.04 percent at 5,240.03, while the Nasdaq settled higher by 166.77 points or 1.03 percent at 16,366.85.

Meanwhile, the major European markets ended mixed on the day. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.23 percent and Germany’s DAX edged down 0.09 percent, and France’s CAC 40 lost 0.27 percent.

Crude oil prices settled modestly higher on Tuesday, snapping a four-session losing streak, as the shutdown of Libya’s 270,000 barrel per day Sharara oil field offered mild support. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended up $0.26 or 0.36 percent at $73.20 a barrel.

Market Analysis