TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japan stock market on Thursday snapped the six-day winning streak in which it had surged more than 3,000 points or 7.3 percent. The Nikkei 225 now sits just beneath the 42,650-point plateau and it may remain stuck in neutral on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement ahead of the meeting between the U.S. and Russian presidents later today to discuss ways to end the Russia-Ukraine war. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The Nikkei finished sharply lower on Thursday following losses from the automobile producers and technology stocks, while the financial sector offered support.
For the day, the index tumbled 625.41 points or 1.45 percent to finish at 42,649.26 after trading between 42,606.73 and 43,199.83.
Among the actives, Nissan Motor tumbled 1.89 percent, while Mazda Motor surrendered 2.70 percent, Toyota Motor retreated 2.43 percent, Honda Motor dropped 1.25 percent, Softbank Group surged 4.40 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial collected 0.70 percent, Mizuho Financial added 0.68 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial jumped 1.77 percent, Mitsubishi Electric declined 1.65 percent, Sony Group slumped 1.45 percent, Panasonic Holdings stumbled 1.80 percent and Hitachi plunged 2.60 percent.
The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and spent most of the day in the red before finally ending mixed and little changed.
The Dow shed 11.01 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 44,911.26, while the NASDAQ dipped 2.47 points or 0.01 percent to close at 21,710.67 and the S&P 500 rose 1.96 points or 0.03 percent to end at a record 6,468.54.
The early weakness on Wall Street followed the release of a Labor Department report showing producer prices in the U.S. increased by much more than expected in the month of July.
The hotter-than-expected producer price inflation data partly offset optimism about a September interest rate cut generated by the consumer price inflation data released earlier this week.
However, CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently still indicating a 92.6 percent chance the Federal Reserve will lower rates by a quarter point next month, which helped keep selling pressure relatively subdued.
Crude oil jumped on Thursday ahead of a crucial meeting between the U.S. and Russian presidents later today in Alaska to discuss ways to end the Russia-Ukraine war. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was up $1.32 or 2.11 percent at $63.97 per barrel.
Closer to home, Japan will release preliminary Q2 numbers for gross domestic product later this morning. GDP is expected to rise 0.1 percent on quarter and 0.4 percent on year following the flat quarterly reading and the 0.2 percent contraction in the three months prior. Capex is seen higher by 0.5 percent on quarter, easing from 1.1 percent in Q1.
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