TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japan stock market on Friday snapped the three-day winning streak in which it had risen almost 490 points or 0.8 percent. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 53,320-point plateau and it may see continued consolidation on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, with any upside likely limited by inflation concerns and profit taking among oil stocks. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The Nikkei finished slightly lower on Friday as gains from the financials, automobile producers and technology stocks limited profit taking from the broader market.
For the day, the index dipped 52.75 points or 0.10 percent to finish at 53,322.85 after trading between 52,923.12 and 53,590.24.
Among the actives, Nissan Motor accelerated 3.20 percent, while Mazda Motor soared 4.49 percent, Toyota Motor jumped 1.62 percent, Honda Motor strengthened 1.47 percent, Softbank Group fell 0.28 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial climbed 1.01 percent, Mizuho Financial collected 1.65 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial advanced 0.94 percent, Mitsubishi Electric gained 0.37 percent, Sony Group added 0.64 percent, Panasonic Holdings rose 0.31 percent and Hitachi surged 5.59 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Friday and remained under water throughout the trading day.
The Dow dropped 179.09 points or 0.36 percent to finish at 48,892.47, while the NASDAQ sank 223.30 points or 0.94 percent to end at 23,461.82 and the S&P 500 lost 29.98 points or 0.43 percent to close at 6,939.03.
For the week, the S&P rose 0.3 percent, the NASDAQ dipped 0.2 percent and the Dow fell 0.4 percent.
The weakness on Wall Street reflected renewed concerns about inflation after the Labor Department reported that producer prices increased by much more than expected in December.
New tariff threats from President Donald Trump may also have contributed to the negative sentiment, as well as news that Trump announced his intent to nominate former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
Crude oil prices slid on Friday as the U.S. dollar index moved higher, while the possibility of diplomatic intervention in the U.S.-Iran conflict also weighed on prices. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was down $0.22 or 0.34 percent at $65.20 per barrel.
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