Japan Stock Market May Hand Back Tuesday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market on Tuesday ended the two-day slide in which it had tumbled more than 970 points or 2.5 percent. The Nikkei 225 now rests just above the 40,080-point plateau although it figures to head south again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on renewed concerns about the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The Nikkei finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and automobile producers, while the technology stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index rallied 776.25 points or 1.97 percent to finish at 40,083.30 after trading between 39,584.36 and 40,288.80.

Among the actives, Nissan Motor advanced .93 percent, while Mazda Motor rose 0.37 percent, Toyota Motor accelerated 1.36 percent, Honda Motor jumped 1.62 percent, Softbank Group strengthened 1.20 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial soared 3,28 percent, Mizuho Financial spiked 2.19 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial rallied 2.25 percent, Mitsubishi Electric fell 0.35 percent, Sony Group climbed 1.21 percent, Panasonic Holdings lost 0.56 percent and Hitachi improved 1.69 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is bleak as the major averages opened slightly higher on Tuesday but quickly turned lower and finished deep in the red.

The Dow stumbled 178.20 points or 0.42 percent to finish at 42,528.36, while the NASDAQ plummeted 375.30 points or 1.89 percent to close at 19,489.68 and the S&P 500 sank 66.35 points or 1.11 percent to end at 5,909.03.

The sharp pullback by stocks came amid a notable increase by treasury yields, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note surging to its highest closing level in eight months.

The jump by treasury yields, which led to concerns about the outlook for interest rates, came following the release of some upbeat U.S. economic data.

The Institute for Supply Management said U.S. service sector activity increased more than expected in December. The report also said the prices index surged to a one-year high, leading to concerns that inflation will remain sticky. Also, the Labor Department said job openings in the U.S. unexpectedly increased in November.

Oil prices climbed higher Tuesday amid a possible supply shortage after China decided to reject imports from Iran and Russia, while unusually cold weather in the U.S. also contributed to the rise in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February closed up $0.69 or 0.94 percent at $74.25 a barrel.

Closer to home, Japan will see December results for its household confidence index later today, with forecasts suggesting a score of 36.6 - up from 36.4 in November.