TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market is losing on Monday after U.S. stocks closed lower on Friday, reflecting a negative reaction to earnings from major banks and weak U.S. retail sales data. Investors also turned cautious as they looked ahead to the release of economic data, including GDP figures, from China later today.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is declining 250.49 points or 0.88 percent to 28,268.69, after touching a low of 28,111.54 in early trades. Japanese shares fell on Friday from the 30-year high hit the previous day.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging down 0.1 percent and Fast Retailing is declining 0.7 percent. In the tech space, Advantest is lower by more than 1 percent and Tokyo Electron is down 0.7 percent.
The major exporters are mostly lower despite a slightly weaker yen. Canon is losing more than 2 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric and Sony are declining almost 1 percent each. Panasonic is advancing almost 2 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is losing more than 1 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is lower by almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is down 1 percent and Toyota is lower by almost 1 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Denso Corp. is rising more than 2 percent and Cyberagent is higher by almost 2 percent.
Conversely, Isetan Mitsukoshi is losing more than 5 percent, while Nikon and JGC Holdings are lower by more than 4 percent each. Mitsui OSK Lines is declining almost 4 percent.
In economic news, Japan will see final November numbers for industrial production today.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 103 yen-range on Monday.
On Wall Street, stocks closed lower on Friday, partly reflecting a negative reaction to earnings news from financial giants Wells Fargo, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase. Negative sentiment was also generated in reaction to a report from the Commerce Department showing a continued decline in U.S. retail sales in the month of December.
The Dow ended the day down 117.26 points or 0.6 percent at 30,814.26 after tumbling by nearly 380 points in early trading. The Nasdaq slumped 114.14 points or 0.9 percent to 12,998.50 and the S&P 500 slid 27.29 points or 0.7 percent to 3,768.25.
The major European markets showed significant moves to the downside on Friday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slumped by 1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index tumbled by 1.2 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.
Crude oil futures settled sharply lower on Friday as worries about energy demand resurfaced amid rising coronavirus cases and tighter restrictions on movements in several countries, including China. Crude for February delivery tumbled $1.21 or about 2.3 percent to $52.36 a barrel.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX