Japanese Market Notably Lower

The Japanese stock market is notably lower on Monday, recouping the losses in the previous three sessions, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 31,600 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday, as traders picked up stocks at a bargain after the recent weakness in the market.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is up 202.33 or 0.64 percent at 31,653.09, after touching a high of 31,717.52 earlier. Japanese shares ended notably lower on Friday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging up 0.4 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is adding almost 1 percent and Toyota is also gaining almost 1 percent.

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

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

The major exporters are weak. Canon is edging down 0.2 percent, while Panasonic and Mitsubishi Electric are losing almost 1 percent each. Sony is flat.

Among other major gainers, Tokyo Electric Power is gaining almost 6 percent, Sumitomo Pharma is adding almost 4 percent and Kawasaki Heavy Industries is up more than 3 percent, while M3 and Sharp are advancing almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, there are no other major losers.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 145 yen-range on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks turned in a mixed performance on Friday with investors largely staying cautious amid concerns the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates higher for longer to control inflation.

Among the major averages, the Dow ended the session with a gain of 25.83 points or 0.07 percent at 34,500.66. The S&P 500 ended little changed at 4,369.71, while the Nasdaq finished with a loss of 26.16 points or 0.2 percent at 13,290.78.

Meanwhile, the major European markets showed notable moves to the downside on the day. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 and Germany’s DAX both dropped 0.65 percent, and France’s CAC 40 ended down 0.38 percent.

Crude oil prices climbed higher Friday, extending gains from the previous session after data indicated a drop in output, while a weaker dollar contributed as well to the uptick in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures added $0.86 or 1.1 percent to $81.25 a barrel. WTI Crude futures shed 2 percent for the week.

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