TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, rallying more than 1,430 points or 3.2 percent in that span. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 44,900-point plateau although it may run out of steam on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft ahead of the FOMC's rate decision later today. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.
The Nikkei finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the automobile producers, weakness from the technology stocks and a mixed picture from the financial sector.
For the day, the index improved 134.15 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 44,902.27 after trading between 44,616.32 and 45,055.38.
Among the actives, Nissan Motor shed 0.41 percent, while Mazda Motor accelerated 2.69 percent, Toyota Motor strengthened 1.57 percent, Honda Motor improved 0.70 percent, Softbank Group collected 0.38 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial perked 0.07 percent, Mizuho Financial sank 0.72 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial dropped 0.78 percent, Mitsubishi Electric skidded 1.12 percent, Sony Group retreated 1.52 percent, Panasonic Holdings lost 0.51 percent and Hitachi slumped 0.95 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday but quickly turned lower and all ended under water.
The Dow slumped 125.55 points or 0.27 percent to finish at 45,757.90, while the NASDAQ fell 14.79 points or 0.07 percent to close at 22,333.75 and the S&P lost 8.52 points or 0.13 percent to end at 6,606.76.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves as the Federal Reserve began its two-day monetary policy meeting.
While the Fed is widely expected to lower interest rates by 25 basis points, traders will look to the accompanying statement as well as officials' latest economic projections for clues about the outlook for rates.
The Fed is widely expected to lower rates by another 25 basis points at both its October and December meetings, although Fed Chair Jerome Powell is likely to say future rate cuts will depend on incoming economic data.
Crude oil moved sharply higher on Tuesday amid the intensifying Russia-Ukraine war and ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision later today. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $1.22 or 1.93 percent at $64.52 per barrel.
Closer to home, Japan will release August numbers for imports, exports and trade balance later this morning. Imports are expected to slip 4.2 percent on year after falling 7.4 percent in July. Exports are called lower by an annual 1.9 percent after shedding 2.6 percent in the previous month. The trade deficit is pegged at 513.6 billion yen, widening from a shortfall of 118.4 billion yen a month earlier.
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