TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market is extending losses from the previous session, following the weak cues overnight from Wall Street after comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell did not appear to signal the imminent interest rate cut currently being priced in by the markets.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is declining 74.05 points or 0.35 percent to 21,119.76, after touching a low of 21,054.35 earlier. Japanese shares retreated on Tuesday.
The major exporters are mostly higher on a weaker yen. Panasonic is advancing 1 percent, Sony is adding 0.3 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is up 0.2 percent, while Canon is losing 2 percent.
Among tech stocks, Tokyo Electron is rising 2 percent and Advantest is gaining more than 4 percent. In the oil sector, Japan Petroleum is down 0.3 percent, while Inpex is rising 1 percent.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has agreed to buy Bombardier's CRJ regional-jet program for $550 million. However, the company's shares are losing almost 1 percent.
Market heavyweight SoftBank is declining more than 1 percent and Fast Retailing is lower by 1 percent. In the auto space, Honda Motor is down 0.2 percent and Toyota Motor is lower by 0.4 percent.
Mitsubishi Motors said Tuesday it will relocate its North American headquarters from California to Tennessee. The automaker's shares are losing 0.6 percent.
Among the major gainers, Takashimaya Co. is rising 5 percent and Screen Holdings is higher by more than 4 percent. Taiyo Yuden and TDK Corp. are gaining more than 3 percent each.
On the flip side, FamilyMart UNY and Nippon Suisan Kaisha are declining more than 2 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 107 yen range on Wednesday.
On Wall Street, stocks closed lower on Tuesday, partly reflecting a negative reaction to a Conference Board report showing a substantial deterioration in U.S. consumer confidence in the month of June. Additional selling pressure was generated in reaction to comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who reiterated the Fed will 'act as appropriate' to sustain the economic expansion but did not appear to signal the imminent interest rate cut currently being priced in by the markets.
The Dow slid 179.32 points or 0.7 percent to 26,548.22, the Nasdaq plunged 120.98 points or 1.5 percent to 7,884.72 and the S&P 500 tumbled 27.97 points or 1 percent to 2,917.38.
The major European markets turned in another mixed performance on Tuesday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the German DAX Index fell by 0.4 percent.
Crude oil futures ended little changed on Tuesday, as traders weighed demand prospects and global crude supply position, ahead of weekly oil reports. WTI crude oil futures for August edged down $0.07 or less than 0.1 percent, to close at $57.83 a barrel.
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