Japanese Market Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is trading modestly lower on Wednesday, reversing the gains in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling below the 42,250 level, with weakness in index heavyweights, financial and technology stocks partially offset by gains in exporter stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 93.53 or 0.22 percent at 42,216.96, after hitting a low of 42,036.99 earlier. Japanese stocks ended modestly higher on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is slipping almost 4 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging down 0.3 percent, while Toyota is edging up 0.2 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 1 percent, while Tokyo Electron is losing more than 1 percent and Screen Holdings is edging down 0.5 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is slipping 1.5 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing more than 1 percent and Mizuho Financial is declining almost 2 percent.

Among the major exporters, Canon is adding almost 1 percent, while Panasonic and Sony are gaining more than 1 percent each. Mitsubishi Electric is edging down 0.1 percent.

Among other major losers, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is declining almost 4 percent.

Conversely, Yokohama Rubber is gaining almost 4 percent and Sumitomo Metal Mining is advancing more than 3 percent, while Socionext and Yamaha Motor are adding almost 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 148 yen-range on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks regained some ground over the course of the trading day on Tuesday but remained firmly negative after initially showing a significant move to the downside. The major averages all moved notably lower, extending the pullback seen during last Friday's session.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq slumped 175.92 points or 0.8 percent to 21,279.63 but had tumbled by as much as 1.5 percent in early trading. The S&P 500 slid 44.72 points or 0.7 percent to 6,415.54, while the Dow fell 249.07 points or 0.6 percent to 42,295.81.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index plunged by 2.3 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slumped by 0.9 percent and the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.7 percent.

Crude oil prices jumped on Tuesday on concerns about supply disruptions increased following strikes on Russian energy sites by Ukraine. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $1.51 or 2.36 percent at $65.52 per barrel.