Nikkei May Take Further Damage On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last five trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had rallied more than 370 points or 1 percent. The Nikkei 225 now rests just above the 36,790-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft thanks to ongoing tariff concerns and their effect on the world economy. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The Nikkei finished slightly lower on Thursday as losses from the automobile producers and technology stocks were mitigated by support from the financial sector.

For the day, the index slipped 29.06 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 36,790.03 after trading between 36,776.94 and 37,326.27.

Among the actives, Nissan Motor tanked 3.92 percent, while Mazda Motor retreated 1.44 percent, Toyota Motor declined 1.54 percent, Honda Motor slumped 1.21 percent, Softbank Group fell 0.32 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial rallied 1.40 percent, Mizuho Financial jumped 1.75 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial spiked 1.90 percent, Mitsubishi Electric climbed 1.25 percent, Sony Group shed 0.63 percent, Panasonic Holdings lost 0.50 percent and Hitachi sank 0.54 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened in the red and continued to track lower throughout the session.

The Dow tumbled 537.36 points or 1.30 percent to finish at 40,813.57, while the NASDAQ dropped 345.44 points or 1.96 percent to close at 17.303.01 and the S&P 500 sank 77.78 points or 1.39 percent to end at 5,521.52.

The sell-off on Wall Street came amid ongoing concerns about President Donald Trump's trade policies after he suggested the U.S. would respond to the European Union's countermeasures with even more tariffs.

In economic news, the Labor Department said producer prices in the U.S. were unexpectedly flat in February. Also, the Labor Department unexpectedly saw a modest decrease by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week.

Oil prices fell on Thursday amid prospects of excess supply in the market, and on concerns about the outlook for demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended lower by $1.13 or 1.7 percent at $66.55 a barrel.