TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese market is losing on Tuesday following the weak cues overnight from Wall Street amid worries about escalating U.S.-China trade tensions. More U.S. companies have joined Google in cutting ties with Huawei, complying with an order by U.S. President Donald Trump blocking the sale or transfer of U.S. technology to the Chinese telecom giant.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 107.76 points or 0.51 percent to 21,193.97, after touching a low of 21,160.43 earlier. Japanese shares closed modestly higher on Monday.
The major exporters are mixed. Sony is losing more than 3 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is declining more than 2 percent, while Canon is advancing almost 1 percent and Panasonic is adding 0.5 percent.
Among tech stocks, Tokyo Electron is declining more than 3 percent and Advantest is lower by almost 2 percent. In the auto space, Honda is down almost 1 percent and Toyota is declining 1 percent.
Among the major banks, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is unchanged while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is lower by 0.7 percent. In the oil sector, Inpex is losing more than 2 percent, while Japan Petroleum is adding 0.7 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Isuzu Motors and Suzuki Motors are rising more than 3 percent each, while Nikon Corp. and Sumitomo Osaka Cement are higher by more than 2 percent each.
On the flip side, Screen Holdings is losing more than 5 percent, Fuji Electric is lower by 5 percent and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha is declining almost 5 percent.
On the economic front, Japan will provide first-quarter data for housing loans and April sales for department stores today.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 110 yen-range on Tuesday.
On Wall Street, stocks closed lower on Monday, led by tech stocks, amid ongoing concerns about the escalating U.S.-China trade dispute after Google suspended some of its business with Chinese tech giant Huawei. Google has cut Huawei off from business involving the transfer of hardware, software and technical services, complying with an order by President Donald Trump blocking the sale or transfer of U.S. technology to Huawei.
The Nasdaq plunged 113.91 points or 1.5 percent to 7,702.38, while the Dow fell 84.10 points or 0.3 percent to 25,679.90 and the S&P 500 slid 19.30 points or 0.7 percent to 2,840.23.
The major European markets all moved to the downside on Monday. While the U.K'.s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index tumbled by 1.5 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.
Crude oil prices rose on Monday as prospects of a likely fall in supply amid an escalation in tensions in the Middle East and on OPEC's indication that it is likely to maintain production cuts for some more time. WTI crude for June ended up $0.34 or 0.54 percent at $63.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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