TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market is declining on Wednesday following the modest losses overnight on Wall Street and on a stronger yen. Investors are also cautious as they look for fresh developments about a possible U.S.-China trade deal.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 131.27 points or 0.60 percent to 21,595.01, after touching a low of 21,556.12 earlier. Japanese shares pulled back from a three-month high on Tuesday.
The major exporters are mixed on a stronger yen. Panasonic is lower by 0.7 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is declining 0.5 percent, while Canon and Sony are adding 0.4 percent each.
In the tech sector, Advantest is down 0.3 percent and Tokyo Electron is lower by 0.6 percent. Among the major automakers, Honda is rising 0.2 percent, while Toyota is edging down 0.1 percent.
In the banking space, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing almost 1 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is down 0.4 percent.
In the oil space, Inpex is declining 0.3 percent, while Japan Petroleum is advancing more than 1 percent after crude oil prices ended roughly flat overnight.
Among the major gainers, CyberAgent is rising almost 5 percent, Rakuten is higher by more than 3 percent and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha is up more than 2 percent.
On the flip side, Sumco Corp. is losing more than 3 percent and Denso Corp. is lower by 3 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 111 yen-range on Wednesday.
On Wall Street, stocks closed slightly lower on Tuesday in choppy trading after traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves, as uncertainty about the U.S.-China trade talks continued to hang over the markets. Traders also digested the latest news out of China, with Beijing cutting its economic growth target for the year but also unveiling plans to boost spending, increase foreign firms' access to its markets, and cut billions of dollars in taxes.
The Dow slipped 13.02 points or 0.1 percent to 25,806.63, the Nasdaq edged down 1.21 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 7,576.36 and the S&P 500 dipped 3.16 points or 0.1 percent to 2,789.65.
The major European markets moved to the upside on Tuesday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.7 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index both edged up by 0.2 percent.
Crude oil prices ended roughly flat on Tuesday after China cut its target for economic growth this year, denting prospects for fuel demand growth. WTI crude oil futures ended down $0.03 at $56.56 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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