TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Ahead of Monday's holiday for Marine Day, the Japanese stock market had alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the three-day losing streak in which it had dropped more than 360 points or 0.9 percent. The Nikkei 225 now sits just beneath the 39,820-point plateau although it's likely to tick higher again on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets offers little clarity as investors wait and see what happens with tariff deadlines. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.
The Nikkei finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the automobile producers and mixed performances from the technology and financial shares.
For the day, the index slipped 82.09 points or 0.21 percent to finish at 39,819.11 after trading between 39,745.42 and 40,087.59.
Among the actives, Nissan Motor retreated 1.26 percent, while Mazda Motor fell 0.29 percent, Toyota Motor and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial both dipped 0.18 percent, Honda Motor shed 0.47 percent, Softbank Group surged 5.00 percent, Mizuho Financial collected 0.46 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial was down 0.30 percent, Mitsubishi Electric perked 0.03 percent, Sony Group tumbled 1.87 percent, Panasonic Holdings slumped 1.11 percent and Hitachi rallied 2.53 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is uninspired as the major averages opened solidly higher on Monday but ebbed throughout the session before ending mixed and little changed.
The Dow sank 19.12 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 44,323.07, while the NASDAQ gained 78.52 points or 0.38 percent to close at a fresh record 20,974.17 and the S&P 500 rose 8.81 points or 0.14 percent to end at 6,305.60 - also a record.
The early strength on Wall Street reflected optimism about potential trade deals, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick saying he is confident the U.S. will reach an agreement with the European Union.
Buying interest waned over the course of the session, however, as traders looked ahead to the release of earnings news from several big-name companies this week, including Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL), Tesla (TSLA) and Intel (INTC).
On the U.S. economic front, a report released by the Conference Board showed its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators fell by slightly more than expected in the month of June.
Crude oil prices slipped on Monday as investors seem concerned that heavy tariffs could block international trade and reduce demand for oil and energy. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery dipped $0.11 to $69.17 per barrel.
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