TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, slumping more than 824 points or 2 percent in that span. The Nikkei 225 now sits just beneath the 41,000-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat with a touch of weakness ahead of the U.S. interest rate decision later this week. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The Nikkei finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares and technology stocks, although the automobile producers offered support.
For the day, the index plunged 457.96 points or 1.10 percent to finish at 40,998.27 after trading between 40,997.87 and 41,534.21.
Among the actives, Nissan Motor jumped 1.63 percent, while Mazda Motor accelerated 1.78 percent, Toyota Motor added 0.65 percent, Honda Motor rallied 2.28 percent, Softbank Group stumbled 3.93 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial retreated 2.39 percent, Mizuho Financial tanked 2.58 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial surrendered 2.71 percent, Mitsubishi Electric sank 0.70 percent, Sony Group tumbled 1.83 percent, Panasonic Holdings strengthened 1.47 percent and Hitachi slumped 1.89 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened mixed on Monday and finished little changed and on opposite sides of the line.
The Dow slumped 64.36 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 44,837.56, while the NASDAQ gained 70.27 points or 0.33 percent to close at a record high 21,178.58 and the S&P perked 1.13 points or 0.02 percent to end at 6,389.77, also a record.
The modest strength on Wall Street followed news the U.S. and the European Union struck a last-minute trade agreement and reports suggest the U.S. and China are likely to extend their tariff truce for another 90 days.
However, buying interest was subdued ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement later this week. While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, the announcement could impact the outlook for rates.
The Labor Department's monthly jobs report is also likely to be in focus in the coming days along with earnings news from Magnificent Seven members Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META).
Crude oil price surged on Monday after the US announced a tariff framework agreement with the EU, cooling fears of a big tariff war. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery jumped $1.72 or 2.64 percent to $66.88 per barrel.
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