TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market is declining on Thursday despite the positive lead overnight from Wall Street as worries about global economic growth and uncertainty over U.S.-China trade talks weighed on the market. Data showing that the manufacturing sector in Japan fell into stagnation in December also dampened sentiment.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 46.18 points or 0.22 percent to 20,547.54, after touching a low of 20,467.59 in early trades. Japanese shares fluctuated before finishing slightly lower on Wednesday.
The major exporters are mixed on a stronger yen. Mitsubishi Electric is advancing more than 1 percent and Canon is higher by 0.6 percent, while Sony is declining more than 1 percent and Panasonic is down 0.4 percent.
In the tech sector, Advantest is gaining more than 5 percent and Tokyo Electron is rising more than 3 percent.
Among the major automakers, Honda is edging up 0.1 percent and Toyota is higher by 0.2 percent. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are higher by 0.5 percent each.
In the oil space, Japan Petroleum is down almost 1 percent and Inpex is losing 0.6 percent after crude oil prices declined modestly overnight.
The Nikkei business daily reported that Japanese telecom company KDDI Corp. is in talks to invest up to 100 billion yen in Kabu.com Securities, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial. Shares of KDDI Corp. are down 0.4 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Nikon is rising more than 5 percent, Screen Holdings is gaining more than 4 percent and Sumco Corp. is higher by more than 3 percent.
On the flip side, Recruit Holdings is losing more than 3 percent, while Takara Holdings and Kikkoman are down more than 2 percent each.
On the economic front, the latest survey from Nikkei revealed that the manufacturing sector in Japan fell into stagnation in December, with a manufacturing PMI score of 50.0. That's down from 52.6 in December and it lands right on the line that separates expansion from contraction.
Japan will also see final November numbers for its leading and coincident indexes today.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the mid 109 yen-range on Thursday.
On Wall Street, stocks closed higher on Wednesday in a volatile session, with the Dow outperforming its counterparts by a wide margin reflecting a positive reaction to quarterly results from several of the components of the blue chip index. Meanwhile, the volatility by the broader markets came as traders expressed uncertainty about the economic impact of the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.
The Dow climbed 171.14 points or 0.7 percent to 24,575.62, while the Nasdaq crept up 5.41 points or 0.1 percent to 7,025.77 and the S&P 500 inched up 5.80 points or 0.2 percent to 2,638.70.
The major European markets all moved to the downside on Wednesday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slumped by 0.9 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index both dipped by 0.2 percent.
Crude oil prices settled modestly lower on Wednesday. WTI crude for March delivery declined $0.39 or 0.7 percent to close at $52.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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