TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market is declining on Monday as investors digested the ouster of White House chief strategist Steve Bannon by U.S. President Donald Trump and the start of joint military drills by the U.S. and South Korea today.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 64.22 points or 0.33 percent to 19,406.19, off a low of 19,383.69 earlier.
Among the major exporters, Sony and Canon are declining more than 1 percent each, while Mitsubishi Electric is down 0.2 percent. Panasonic is edging up less than 0.1 percent.
Among automakers, Toyota is advancing almost 1 percent, while Honda is down 0.3 percent each. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is declining more than 1 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is lower by 0.3 percent.
In the oil space, Inpex is advancing more than 1 percent and Japan Petroleum Exploration is up almost 1 percent as crude oil prices rose 3 percent on Friday.
Among the other major gainers, Mitsui Chemicals is rising more than 3 percent, Mitsubishi Chemical is up 3 percent and Nippon Yusen is higher by almost 3 percent. On the flip side, Konica Minolta is losing more than 3 percent, Kubota is down more than 2 percent and Shinsei Bank is lower by almost 2 percent.
In economic news, Japan will see June results for its all industry activity index and July results for nationwide as well as Tokyo area department store sales.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 109 yen-range on Monday.
On Wall Street, stocks closed modestly lower on Friday in a lackluster session amid concerns about President Donald Trump's ability to implement his agenda. Reports of the removal of White House chief strategist Steve Bannon helped stocks climb off their worst levels of the day.
The Dow fell 76.22 points or 0.4 percent to 21,674.51, the Nasdaq edged down 5.39 points or 0.1 percent to 6,216.53 and the S&P 500 dipped 4.46 points or 0.2 percent to 2,425.55.
The major European markets also moved to the downside on Friday. The German DAX Index fell by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.6 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index dropped by 0.9 percent.
Crude oil futures spiked higher Friday after industry data showed the U.S. rig count fell in the week. WTI crude for September delivery jumped $1.42 or 3 percent to settle at $48.51 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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