The Japanese stock market is modestly higher in choppy trading on Tuesday, extending the gains in the previous session, with the Nikkei 225 staying just below the 25,400 level, following the mostly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders continue to monitor developments surrounding the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis, with hopes of peace talks that resumed today leading to a diplomatic solution.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 74.00 points or 0.29 percent at 25,381.85, after touching a high of 25,423.95 and a low of 25,219.13 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly higher on Monday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 5 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is down more than 4 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging up 0.2 percent and Toyota is adding more than 1 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is edging up 0.5 percent, while Tokyo Electron is edging down 0.2 percent and Screen Holdings is flat. In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is flat, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging up 0.3 percent and Mizuho Financial is gaining almost 1 percent.
The major exporters are mostly higher, with Panasonic and Mitsubishi Electric adding more than 1 percent each, while Canon gaining almost 2 percent and Sony is up almost 1 percent.
Among the other major losers, Pacific Metals is plunging more than 17 percent and Toho Zinc is sliding more than 9 percent, while Inpex and Dowa Holdings are slipping almost 8 percent each. Sumitomo Metal Mining is losing more than 7 percent, Astellas Pharma is down more than 5 percent, Idemitsu Kosan is declining almost 5 percent and Mitsui Mining & Smelting is lower by more than 4 percent, while Mitsui & Co. and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha are sliding almost 4 percent each. Fast Retailing and JFE Holdings are down more than 3 percent each.
Conversely, Nissan Motor is gaining more than 4 percent, while Minebea Mitsumi, Nippon Sheet Glass and Subaru are adding almost 4 percent each. Asahi Group Holdings, Tokio Marine Holdings and Shionogi & Co. are more than 3 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 118 yen-range on Tuesday.
On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading session on Monday, adding to the losses posted last week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq showed a particularly steep drop on the day, ending the session at its lowest closing level in over a year.
The Nasdaq plunged 262.59 points or 2 percent to 12,581.22, while the S&P 500 slid 31.20 points or 0.7 percent to 4,173.11. Meanwhile, the narrower Dow turned negative after climbing as much as 450 points but recovered to end the day up 1.05 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 32,945.24.
Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index surged by 2.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.8 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.5 percent.
Crude oil prices fell sharply Monday amid easing worries about supply on reports the U.S. is likely to lift sanctions on Venezuelan oil. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended lower by $6.32 or 5.8 percent at $103.01 a barrel.
Market Analysis
Japanese Market Modestly Higher
2022-03-15 02:42:48
