TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japan stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, stumbling more than 700 points or 1.4 percent in that span. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 52,650-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on decent economic data, although weakness among the oil stocks may limit the upside. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.
The Nikkei finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the financial and technology shares, while support from the automobile companies limited the downside.
For the day, the index dropped 667.67 points or 1.25 percent to finish at the daily low of 52,655.18 after moving as high as 54,247.15.
Among the actives, Nissan Motor rose 0.19 percent, while Mazda Motor dipped 0.17 percent, Toyota Motor advanced 0.88 percent, Honda Motor added 0.42 percent, Softbank Group stumbled 3.83 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial tanked 2.16 percent, Mizuho Financial surrendered 3.29 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial cratered 3.40 percent, Mitsubishi Electric fell 0.39 percent, Sony Group slumped 1.30 percent, Panasonic Holdings tumbled 2.27 percent and Hitachi dropped 1.34 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened flat but quickly tracked to the upside and spent the balance of the day in the green.
The Dow jumped 515.19 points or 1.05 percent to finish at 49,407.66, while the NASDAQ added 130.29 points or 0.56 percent to end at 23,592.11 and the S&P 500 gained 37.41 points or 0.54 percent to close at 6,976.44.
The strength on Wall Street followed the release of a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing manufacturing activity in the U.S. unexpectedly expanded for the first time in 12 months in January.
The markets saw continued strength after President Donald Trump announced that he has reached a trade deal with India.
But traders seemed somewhat reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of the release of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.
Crude oil prices tumbled on Monday as signs of de-escalation of the U.S.-Iran conflict reduced supply-output concerns in the Middle East, taking off the geopolitical risk premium. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was down $3.28 or 5.03 percent at $61.93 per barrel.
Closer to home, Japan will provide January numbers for its monetary base later this morning, with forecasts suggesting a decline of 10.2 percent on year following the 9.8 percent drop in December.
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