Japan Shares Tipped To End Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market has tracked lower in back-to-back sessions, slumping almost 400 points or 1 percent along the way. The Nikkei 225 now sits just beneath the 39,460-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with strong support expected from the technology companies. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The Nikkei 225 finished barely lower on Monday following mixed performances from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile companies. For the day, the index slipped 12.95 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 39,457.49 after trading between 39,371.42 and 39,632.17. Among the actives, Nissan Motor retreated 1.21 percent, while Mazda Motor sank 0.78 percent, Toyota Motor dipped 0.20 percent, Honda Motor shed 0.46 percent, Softbank Group advanced 0.99 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial collected 0.41 percent, Mizuho Financial eased 0.18 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial was down 0.19 percent, Mitsubishi Electric added 0.57 percent, Sony Group skidded 1.01 percent, Panasonic Holdings rallied 2.13 percent and Hitachi lost 0.48 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened mixed on Monday and finished largely the same way.

The Dow shed 110.58 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 43,717.48, while the NASDAQ surged 247.17 points or 1.24 percent to close at a record 20,173.89 and the S&P 500 advanced 22.99 points or 0.38 percent to end at 6,074.08.

The general strength on Wall Street reflected optimism about the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision later today. The Fed is widely expected to continue cutting interest rates, with CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently indicating a 99.1 percent chance the central bank will lower rates by another 25 basis points.

The surge by the NASDAQ came amid significant strength among semiconductor stocks, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumping by 2.1 percent. Networking stocks also saw considerable strength, extending a recent upward trend, driving the NYSE Arca Networking Index up by 2.0 percent to a new record closing high.

Buying interest was somewhat subdued, however, as recent data showing inflation remains somewhat sticky has led to some worries the Fed will lower rates slower than previously anticipated next year.

In U.S. economic news, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released a report showing a sharp pullback by its reading on regional manufacturing activity in the month of December.

Crude oil prices fell on Monday amid concerns about the outlook for demand after weak economic data from China and the threat of tariffs. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January closed down $0.58 at $70.71 a barrel.