TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market has moved lower in two of three trading days since the end of the four-day winning streak in which it had surged more than 1,430 points or 3.2 percent. The Nikkei 225 now sits just beneath the 45,050-point plateau and it may see mild upside on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher on continued optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were slightly lower and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The Nikkei finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the technology stocks, gains from the financials and a mixed picture from the automobile producers.
For the day, the index slumped 257.62 points or 0.57 percent to finish at 45,045.81 after trading between 44,495.46 and 45,852.75.
Among the actives, Nissan Motor advanced 0.85 percent, while Mazda Motor rose 0.27 percent, Toyota Motor shed 0.60 percent, Honda Motor lost 0.55 percent, Softbank Group collected 0.66 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial rallied 2.61 percent, Mizuho Financial jumped 1.72 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial strengthened 1.64 percent, Mitsubishi Electric improved 0.77 percent, Sony Group stumbled 2.53 percent, Panasonic Holdings tanked 2.20 percent and Hitachi plunged 2.35 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Friday and remained in the green throughout the session, hitting fresh record closing highs.
The Dow jumped 172.85 points or 0.37 percent to finish at 46,315.27, while the NASDAQ climbed 160.75 points or 0.72 percent to end at 22,631.48 and the S&P 500 added 32.40 points or 0.49 percent to close at 6,664.36.
For the week, the NASDAQ surged 2.2 percent, while the S&P gained 1.2 percent and the Dow rose 1.1 percent.
Optimism about lower interest rates has contributed to the strength on Wall Street, with the Federal Reserve cutting rates by a quarter point on Wednesday and signaling two more rate cuts this year.
Overall trading activity appeared somewhat subdued, however, as a lack of major U.S. economic data kept some traders on the sidelines.
Crude oil dropped on Friday as traders dissected the Federal Reserve's message, hinting at underlying risks to the economy and stoking demand concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was down $0.91 or 1.43 percent at $62.66 per barrel.
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