The Japanese stock market is modestly lower on Tuesday, extending the sharp losses in the previous session, with the benchmark Nikkei index falling below the 27,000 mark, following the negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain cautious and continue 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 on a steady decline from the weekend. At present, quasi-emergencies are set to expire in 21 prefectures on Sunday.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is losing 124.06 points or 0.46 percent to 26,955.53, after hitting a low of 26,933.87 earlier. Japanese shares closed sharply lower on Monday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging down 0.2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging up 0.3 percent, while Toyota is losing more than 1 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is edging down 0.5 percent, while Tokyo Electron and Screen Holdings are losing almost 1 percent each. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing more than 1 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging down 0.2 percent and Mizuho Financial is down almost 1 percent.
The major exporters are mostly higher. Panasonic is edging up 0.4 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric and Canon are adding almost 1 percent each. Sony is down almost 1 percent.
Among the other major losers, Recruit Holdings is plunging almost 13 percent and Kubota is slipping almost 11 percent, while MS&AD Insurance Group and Japan Post Holdings are losing almost 4 percent each. Dai-ichi Life and Sompo Holdings are declining more than 3 percent each.
Conversely, Nippon Express Holdings is soaring more than 8 percent and Dentsu Group is surging more than 5 percent, while Tokyo Tatemono, Kirin Holdings, Nikon and Toho Zinc are rising more than 3 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 115 yen-range on Tuesday.
On Wall Street, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Monday before ending the day mostly lower. With the continued decrease on the day, the major averages extended the sell-off seen last Thursday and Friday.
The major averages all closed in negative territory, although the tech-heavy Nasdaq edged down just 0.24 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 13,709.92. The Dow fell 171.89 points or 0.5 percent to 34,566.17 and the S&P 500 dropped 16.97 points or 0.4 percent at 4,401.67.
The major European markets also showed notable moves to the downside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index tumbled by 1.7 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index dove by 2 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively.
Crude oil prices rose sharply on Monday on rising concerns that Russia could attack Ukraine in the near future. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended higher by $2.36 or 2.5 percent at $95.46 a barrel, the highest settlement since September 2014.
Market Analysis
Japanese Market Modestly Lower
2022-02-15 02:24:45
