TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market on Wednesday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had surged almost 2,200 points or 4 percent. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 51,960-point plateau and it may take further damage on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak, as traders are expected to lock in gains with several markets at or near record highs. The European and U.S. markets were mostly in the red and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The Nikkei finished sharply lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.
For the day, the index tumbled 556.10 points or 1.06 percent to finish at 51,961.98 after trading between 51,830.40 and 52,404.11.
Among the actives, Nissan Motor stumbled 2.28 percent, while Mazda Motor tanked 2.45 percent, Toyota Motor crashed 2.74 percent, Honda Motor surrendered 2.14 percent, Softbank Group retreated 1.40 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial fell 0.23 percent, Mizuho Financial shed 0.57 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial tumbled 2.21 percent, Mitsubishi Electric cratered 2.30 percent, Sony Group plunged 3.28 percent, Panasonic Holdings slumped 2.04 percent and Hitachi plummeted 3.34 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened slightly higher on Wednesday and hugged the line for much of the day before a late slump saw them end mixed.
The Dow dropped 466.00 points or 0.94 percent to finish at 48,996.08, while the NASDAQ rose 37.10 points or 0.16 percent to close at 23,584.28 and the S&P 500 sank 23.89 points or 0.34 percent to end at 6,920.93.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders took a step back to assess the recent strength in the markets, which lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to new record closing highs on Tuesday.
Traders were also digesting the latest U.S. economic data, including a report from payroll processor ADP showing private sector employment increased less than expected in December.
Also, the Labor Department said job openings in the U.S. fell more than expected in November, while the Institute for Supply Management noted an unexpected increase by its reading on U.S. service sector activity in December.
Crude oil prices plunged again on Wednesday due to emerging supply side concerns following U.S. attempts to gain control of Venezuelan oil wealth. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was down $1.11 or 1.94 percent at $56.02 per barrel.
Closer to home, Japan will see December results for its household confidence index later today, with forecasts suggesting a score of 37.8 - up from 37.5 in November.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
