Japanese Market Sharply Lower

(RTTNews) - The Japanese market is trading sharply lower on Thursday, extending the losses in the previous session, despite the slightly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling to near the 38,700 level, with weakness across most sectors led by index heavyweights and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 456.94 points or 1.17 percent to 38,707.67, after hitting a low of 38,640.71 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly lower on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is down almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is losing more than 2 percent and Honda is down almost 2 percent.

In the tech space, Tokyo Electron is losing almost 3 percent and Screen Holdings is declining more than 3 percent, while Advantest is flat.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial is losing almost 2 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are down more than 1 percent each.

Among the major exporters, Panasonic is losing almost 2 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is down more than 1 percent, Sony is declining 1.5 percent and Canon slipping almost 1 percent.

Among other major losers, Hino Motors and Yokohama Rubber are declining more than 4 percent each, while Shimizu is sliding almost 4 percent. Nomura Research Institute, NEC, Trend Micro, Resonac Holdings, J. Front Retailing and Subaru are losing more than 3 percent each, while Obayashi, Nitori Holdings, IHI, NTT Data, Nintendo and Nissan Motor are down almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Shiseido is surging more than 7 percent, while Suzuki Motor and Renesas Electronics are gaining more than 4 percent each. Toto is advancing almost 4 percent and Yamato is adding almost 3 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 150 yen-range on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved modestly lower early in the session on Wednesday but regained ground over the course of the trading day. The major averages climbed well off their early lows and into positive territory, with the S&P 500 once again reaching a new record closing high.

The major averages ended the day modestly higher. The S&P 500 rose 14.57 points or 0.2 percent to 6,144.15, the Dow climbed 71.25 points or 0.2 percent to 44,627.59 and the Nasdaq inched up 14.99 points or 0.1 percent to 20,056.25.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index tumbled 1.8 percent, the French CAC 40 Index slumped by 1.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.6 percent.

Crude oil prices settled higher Wednesday, extending gains from previous session amid concerns about the outlook for supplies after a recent drone attack by Ukraine on a Russian pumping station. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March rose $0.40 or 0.56 percent at $72.25 a barrel.