Japanese Market Significantly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is trading significantly lower on Monday, snapping a three-session losing streak. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 40,000 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday, with weakness across most sectors led by index heavyweights and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 295.17 or 0.73 percent at 39,985.99, after hitting a low of 39,952.66 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply higher on Friday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 1 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is down 1.5 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging down 0.3 percent and Toyota is losing almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Tokyo Electron is losing more than 1 percent, Advantest is declining almost 4 percent and Screen Holdings is down almost 1 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging up 0.2 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is gaining almost 1 percent, while Mizuho Financial is edging down 0.3 percent.

The major exporters are mostly lower. Canon and Mitsubishi Electric are edging down 0.3 to 0.4 percent each, while Sony is losing more than 1 percent. Panasonic is edging up 0.3 percent.

Among other major losers, Nissan Motor is slipping more than 6 percent, Socionext is losing more than 4 percent and Japan Steel Works is down almost 4 percent, while Mitsubishi Motors and Fujikura are declining more than 3 percent each. Kawasaki Heavy Industries is sliding almost 3 percent.

Conversely, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha is gaining almost 3 percent.

In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Japan continued to contract in December, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed on Monday with a manufacturing PMI score of 49.6. That's up from 49.0 in November, although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. Latest data showed there was a softer decrease in output at the end of the year. The rate of decline was only marginal and eased from that seen in the month prior.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 157 yen-range on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks tumbled on Friday and the major averages all closed notably lower with the tech-laden Nasdaq suffering a more pronounced loss as yields on 10-Year Treasury Note rose to near 8-month high.

The Dow closed down 333.59 points or 0.77 percent at 42,992.21, well off the day's low of 42,761.56. The S&P 500, which dropped to 5,932.95, settled at 5,970.84 with a loss of 66.75 points or 1.11%, while the Nasdaq ended lower by 298.33 points or 1.49% at 19,722.03, recovering from a low of 19,533.40.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day. Germany's DAX closed higher by 0.68 percent, France's CAC 40 advanced 1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.16 percent.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Friday after data showed a sharp drop in U.S. crude inventories last week, while the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine also supported prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February settled at $70.60 a barrel, gaining about 1.4 percent.