TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Reversing the gains in the previous session, the Japanese market is notably lower on Friday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling below the 40,700 level, with weakness in financial and technology stocks partially offset by gains in exporters and automaker stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 304.38 points or 0.74 percent to 40,665.44, after hitting a low of 40,588.17 earlier. Japanese shares ended significantly higher on Thursday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 2 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is gaining more than 1 percent and Honda is adding almost 1 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is losing more than 2 percent, Screen Holdings is declining almost 5 percent and Tokyo Electron is plummeting more than 18 percent after cutting its full-year profit outlook amid sluggish demand from logic chipmakers.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is losing almost 1 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging down 0.2 percent and Mizuho Financial is declining almost 2 percent.
Among the major exporters, Sony is edging up 0.1 percent, Canon is gaining almost 2 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is surging almost 5 percent and Panasonic is adding 1.5 percent.
Among other major losers, Socionext is plunging more than 12 percent, Hitachi is tumbling almost 9 percent, Lasertec is declining almost 6 percent and Sumitomo Pharma is losing more than 4 percent, while Sumco and Toto are down more than 3 percent each. Disco is slipping almost 3 percent.
Conversely, Fuji Electric is jumping more than 12 percent, Konami Group is soaring more than 8 percent, NGK Insulators is surging almost 8 percent, Konica Minolta is rising more than 7 percent, Tokyo Gas is gaining more than 5 percent and Japan Tobacco is adding almost 5 percent, while Toyota Tsusho and Otsuka Holdings are up almost 4 percent each. Nissan Motor and Tokyo Electric Power are rising more than 3 percent each, while Mitsui Fudosan, Fanuc and Mitsubishi Motors are up almost 3 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 150 yen-range on Friday.
On Wall Street, stocks gave back ground over the course of the trading day on Thursday after moving sharply higher early in the session. The major averages pulled back well off their best levels of the day and into negative territory.
The major averages finished the day just off their lows of the session. The Nasdaq edged down 7.23 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 21,122.45, the S&P 500 fell 23.51 points or 0.4 percent to 6,339.39 and the Dow slid 330.30 points or 0.7 percent to 44,140.98.
The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index tumbled by 1.1 percent, the German DAX Index slid by 0.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent.
Crude oil prices settled lower on Thursday due to concerns of slowing energy demand amid a high-tariff global economy along with the August 1 deadline set by the US President for countries to strike a trade deal with the US about to expire in hours. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was last seen trading, down by $0.71 or 1.01 percent to $69.29 per barrel.
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