Soft Start Called For Oversold Japan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market on Monday ended the three-day winning streak in which it had gained almost 550 points or 1.4 percent. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 38,520-point plateau

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative, thanks to concerns over tariffs and how they affect the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The Nikkei finished sharply lower on Monday with damage in all sectors, especially the automobile producers and technology stocks.

For the day, the index tumbled 1,052.40 points or 2.66 percent to finish at 38,520.09 after trading between 38,401.82 and 38,948.61.

Among the actives, Nissan Motor crashed 5.63 percent, while Mazda Motor plunged 7.53 percent, Toyota Motor stumbled 5.01 percent, Honda Motor cratered 7.20 percent, Softbank Group collected 0.47 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial sank 2.65 percent, Mizuho Financial shed 1.07 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial slumped 2.92 percent, Mitsubishi Electric skidded 0.99 percent, Sony Group dropped 1.74 percent, Panasonic Holdings tumbled 4.32 percent and Hitachi lost 1.93 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened under water again on Monday and largely stayed that way, although they climbed up off session lows.

The Dow dropped 122.75 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 44,421.91, while the NASDAQ stumbled 235.49 points or 1.20 percent to close at 19,391.96 and the S&P 500 sank 45.96 points or 0.76 percent to end at 5,994.57.

Stocks moved sharply lower in early trading amid concerns about a global trade war after President Donald Trump officially imposed a 25 percent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10 percent tariff on imports from China. Trump also threatened possible tariffs against the United Kingdom and the European Union, marking a significant escalation.

Canada and Mexico ordered retaliatory tariffs on American goods, while China vowed countermeasures. The EU also warned of firm retaliation if targeted.

Investors fear that a trade war could hit the earnings of major companies and dent global growth. The tariffs could also lead to renewed inflation fears, leading the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates on hold for longer.

Oil futures settled higher on Monday after Trump's imposed tariffs on imports from Canada threatened to disrupt North America's tightly integrated oil market. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March settled at $73.16 a barrel, up $0.63 or about 0.87 percent.

Closer to home, Japan will release January numbers for monetary base later this morning. The monetary base is expected to slip 0.5 percent on year after sinking 0.9 percent in December.