Japanese Market Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - Snapping the three-sessions of gains, the Japanese market is trading modestly lower on Thursday, despite the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling below the 33,400 level, with losses in exporters and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 134.93 points or 0.40 percent to 33,384.77, after hitting a low of 33,373.45 earlier. Japanese stocks closed sharply higher on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging up 0.5 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.2 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is gaining more than 1 percent and Honda is edging up 0.5 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is losing more than 3 percent and Tokyo Electron is edging down 0.4 percent, while Screen Holdings is edging up 0.5 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is gaining more than 1 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is adding almost 3 percent and Mizuho Financial is edging up 0.3 percent.

Among the major exporters, Canon and Mitsubishi Electric are edging down 0.2 percent each, while Panasonic is losing 1.5 percent and Sony is down almost 1 percent.

Among other major losers, M3 is losing more than 3 percent, while Murata Manufacturing and Citizen Watch are declining almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Recruit Holdings is surging almost 8 percent and Nissan Motor is gaining more than 4 percent, while Renesas Electronics and Fujikura are adding almost 4 percent each. Mazda Motor is up almost 3 percent.

In economic news, the total value of core machine orders in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 1.4 percent on month in September, the Cabinet Office said on Thursday - coming in at 852.9 billion yen. That beat forecasts for an increase of 0.9 percent following the 0.5 percent contraction in August.

On a yearly basis, core machine orders slipped 2.2 percent - again exceeding expectations for a 3.6 percent drop following the 7.7 percent decline in the previous month. For the third quarter of 2023, orders were down 1.8 percent on quarter and 7.2 percent on year at 2,538.5 billion yen. For the fourth quarter, orders are seen higher by 0.5 percent on quarter and lower by 1.6 percent on year.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance said Japan posted a merchandise trade deficit of 662.5 billion yen in October. That beat forecasts for a shortfall of 735.7 billion yen following the upwardly revised 72.1 billion yen surplus in September (originally 62.4 billion yen).

Exports rose 1.6 percent on year to 9.147 trillion yen - beating forecasts for an increase of 1.2 percent but slowing from the 4.3 percent gain in the previous month. Imports slumped an annual 12.5 percent to 9.809 trillion yen versus expectations for a deficit of 735.7 billion yen.

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

On Wall Street, stocks saw some further upside during trading on Wednesday following the substantial rally seen in the previous session. The major averages fluctuated over the course of the session but managed to end the day modestly higher.

The Nasdaq inched up 9.45 points or 0.1 percent to a three-month closing high of 14,103.84, and the S&P 500 edged up 7.18 points or 0.2 percent to a two-month closing high of 4.502.88. The narrower Dow outperformed, climbing 163.51 points or 0.5 percent to 3,499.21, the blue chip index's best closing level in three months.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index advanced by 0.9 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.6 percent and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Wednesday after data showed a sharp increase in U.S. crude stockpiles and a big jump in crude production. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December lost $1.60 or 2 percent at $76.66 a barrel, falling for the first time in five sessions.