TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market on Wednesday ended the two-day losing streak in which it had tumbled almost 1,500 points or 3.2 percent. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 49,510-point plateau although it's expected to open under water on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on continuing concerns over the viability of the technology companies. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The Nikkei finished slightly higher on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.
For the day, the index gained 128.99 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 49,512.28 after trading between 49,077.81 and 49,571.50.
Among the actives, Nissan Motor fell 0.35 percent, while Mazda Motor sank 0.72 percent, Toyota Motor added 0.57 percent, Honda Motor eased 0.13 percent, Softbank Group climbed 1.30 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial dropped 0.95 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial both rose 0.21 percent, Mitsubishi Electric tumbled 1.69 percent, Sony Group lost 0.79 percent, Panasonic Holdings slumped 1.34 percent and Hitachi rallied 2.06 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed but quickly headed south and spent the balance of the day under water.
The Dow dropped 228.29 points or 0.47 percent to finish at 47,885.97, while the NASDAQ plunged 418.14 points or 1.81 percent to close at 22,693.32 and the S&P 500 sank 78.83 points or 1.16 percent to end at 6,721.43.
The sharp pullback seen as the day progressed came amid renewed weakness among technology stocks, as reflected by the steep drop by the tech-heavy NASDAQ.
Semiconductor stocks turned in some of the market's worst performances on the day, resulting in a 3.8 percent plunge by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Computer hardware stocks and networking stocks also slumped.
On the other hand, energy stocks turned in a strong performance as the price of crude oil rebounds from its lowest levels since early 2021.
The rebound by the price of crude oil comes after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers in Venezuela. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was up $0.70 or 1.3 percent to end at $55.97 per barrel.
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