Japanese Market Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is modestly lower on Monday after opening in the red and briefly treading into the green, extending the losses in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Friday. The Nikkei 225 index is falling well below the 39,100 level, with weakness in index heavyweights and automaker stocks partially offset by gains in technology and financial stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 106.95 points or 0.27 percent at 39,042.48, after hitting a low of 39,021.23 earlier. Japanese shares ended significantly lower on Friday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging down 0.4 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is also edging down 0.2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is sliding almost 3 percent and Toyota is losing more than 2 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 3 percent and Screen Holdings is adding almost 2 percent, while Tokyo Electron is down more than 1 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is gaining more than 1 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is adding almost 2 percent, while Mizuho Financial is flat.

The major exporters are mixed. Panasonic is edging down 0.2 percent and Canon is losing 1.5 percent, while Sony is gaining more than 1 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is edging up 0.1 percent.

Among the other major losers, Olympus and Dentsu Group are plummeting almost 12 percent each, while Amada and Rakuten Group are plunging more than 6 percent each. Hino Motors is losing almost 5 percent, while Subaru, MS&AD Insurance, Japan Post and Ricoh are slipping more than 4 percent each, while Yokogawa Electric is down almost 4 percent. Mazda Motor is losing more than 3 percent, while Shiseido, DeNA and NEXON are declining almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Credit Saison is skyrocketing more than 12 percent, Ebara is soaring more than 8 percent, Nippon Express Holdings is surging almost 8 percent, ENEOS Holdings is gaining more than 5 percent, Dai-ichi Life Holdings is adding almost 5 percent and Asahi Group Holdings is advancing more than 4 percent, while T&D Holdings and Otsuka Holdings are up almost 4 percent each. Tokyo Gas is up more than 3 percent, while Renesas Electronics, Kirin Holdings, Sumitomo Pharma and Kawasaki Heavy Industries are advancing almost 3 percent each.

In economic news, Japan's gross domestic product expanded a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2024, the Cabinet Office said in Monday's preliminary report. That beat forecasts for an increase of 0.3 percent and was up from the upwardly revised 0.4 percent gain in the previous three months (originally 0.3 percent).

On an annualized basis, GDP was up 2.8 percent - again exceeding expectations for an increase of 2.0 percent and up from the upwardly revised 1.7 percent gain in the three months prior (originally 1.2 percent). The GDP price index was up 2.8 percent on year, in line with estimates and up from 2.4 percent in the third quarter.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 151 yen-range on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Friday following the rally seen during Thursday's session. The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually ending the day mixed.

While the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 81.13 points or 0.4 percent to 20,026.77, the S&P 500 edged down 0.44 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 6,114.64 and the narrower Dow fell 165.35 points or 0.4 percent to 44,546.08.

The major European markets also turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index crept up by 0.2 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index both fell by 0.4 percent.

Crude oil prices drifted lower on Friday as supply concerns eased amid hopes of a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine and possibility of removal of sanctions on Russia. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures fell $0.55 or 0.77 percent at $70.74 a barrel. WTI futures gained 1.0 percent for the week.