TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japan stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, tumbling almost 970 points or 2.7 percent along the way. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 37,470-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were slightly lower and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.
The Nikkei finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.
For the day, the index plunged 494.43 points or 1.30 percent to finish at 37,470.67 after trading between 37,320.72 and 37,651.18.
Among the actives, Nissan Motor shed 0.60 percent, while Mazda Motor plunged 3.41 percent, Toyota Motor stumbled 2.82 percent, Honda Motor surrendered 2.11 percent, Softbank Group cratered 3.40 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial retreated 1.75 percent, Mizuho Financial dropped 0.92 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial skidded 1.08 percent, Mitsubishi Electric sank 0.83 percent, Sony Group dipped 0.21 percent, Panasonic Holdings tumbled 1.98 percent and Hitachi slumped 1.68 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is mildly positive as the major averages spent most of Monday in the red before a late rally nudged them over the unchanged line.
The Dow added 35.41 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 42,305.48, while the NASDAQ gained 128.85 points or 0.67 percent to close at 19,242.61 and the S&P 500 rose 24.25 points or 0.41 percent to end at 5,935.94.
The early weakness on Wall Street reflected renewed trade concerns amid further signs of rising tensions between the U.S. and China.
China on Monday pushed back against President Donald Trump's claims that it had broken the Geneva trade agreement, accusing the U.S. of violating the deal with increased tech export restrictions and the revocation of Chinese student visas.
However, selling pressure waned following the release of a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing U.S. manufacturing activity unexpectedly weakened in May. The report generated some optimism about the outlook for interest rates amid signs of U.S. economic weakness due to Trump's trade war.
Crude oil futures moved sharply higher on Monday, amid escalating geopolitical tensions and reports of more U.S. sanctions on Moscow. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery shot up $1.73 or 2.9 percent to $62.52 a barrel.
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