TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market is sharply lower on Tuesday, after three straight sessions of gains, with the benchmark Nikkei index tumbling almost 800 points to stay just above the 29,700 level, following the broadly negative cues overnight from Wall Street as the outlook for inflation weighed on the markets amid an increase in commodities prices.
The market is also cautious as the government enhances their response to tackle the fourth wave of coronavirus infections driven by more contagious variants. Japan's confirmed daily coronavirus infections had topped 6,000 for the third straight day on Sunday.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is losing 779.79 points or 2.64 percent to 28,738.55, after hitting a low of 28,713.09 earlier. Japanese shares closed modestly higher on Monday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 5 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is down almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is down almost 3 percent and Toyota is losing more than 2 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is losing more than 4 percent, Tokyo Electron is down almost 4 percent and Screen Holdings is declining more than 3 percent. In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging down 0.5 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing more than 1 percent and Mizuho Financial is declining almost 1 percent.
The major exporters are weak, with Panasonic losing almost 7 percent and Sony down more than 3 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric and Canon are declining almost 1 percent each.
Among the other major losers, Oki Electric Industry is losing more than 9 percent, while TDK and Tokai Carbon are down more than 5 percent. Japan Exchange Group, Mitsui Mining, Sumco and Japan Steel are declining almost 5 percent each.
Conversely, Ajinomoto is gaining more than 4 percent, Sumitomo Heavy Industries is adding down more than 3 percent, while Toyobo and Nippon Yusen are down more than 2 percent each. Mitsui OSK Lines is declining almost 2 percent.
In economic news, the average of household spending in Japan was up 6.2 percent on year in March, the Ministry of Communications and Internal Affairs said on Tuesday, coming in at 309,800 yen. That beat forecasts for an increase of 1.5 percent following the 6.6 percent drop in February. The average of monthly income per household stood at 484,914 yen, down 1.0 percent on year. Household spending also climbed 7.2 percent on month, again exceeding expectations for a gain of 2.1 percent after rising 2.4 percent in the previous month.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 108 yen-range on Tuesday.
On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading session on Monday, with technology stocks leading the way to the downside. The Dow reached a record intraday high in morning trading but joined the tech-heavy Nasdaq in negative territory as the day progressed.
The major averages all finished the day lower, although the Nasdaq underperformed its counterparts by a wide margin. The Nasdaq plunged 350.38 points or 2.6 percent to 13,401.86, while the S&P 500 slid 44.17 points or 1 percent to 4,188.43 and the S&P 500 edged down 34.94 points or 0.1 percent to 34,742.82.
Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a lackluster performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both closed nearly unchanged.
Crude oil futures were marginally higher Monday on news of the shutdown of critical fuel supply pipelines in the U.S. following a major cyberattack. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended up $0.02 or 0.02 percent at $64.92 a barrel.
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