TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japan stock market headed south again on Wednesday, one day after ending the two-day slide in which it had stumbled more than 700 points or 1.4 percent. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 54,290-point plateau and it may take further damage on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is unclear, with technology stocks likely under pressure while oil, pharmaceutical and housing stocks offering support. The European and U.S. markets were mixed to lower and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.
The Nikkei finished modestly lower on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares and technology stocks., while the automobile producers were strong.
For the day, the index sank 427.30 points or 0.78 percent to finish at 54,293.36 after trading between 53,965.51 and 54,459.41.
Among the actives, Nissan Motor accelerated 1.89 percent, while Mazda Motor vaulted 1.61 percent, Toyota Motor rallied 3.64 percent, Honda Motor jumped 2.19 percent, Softbank Group stumbled 2.16 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial spiked 2.32 percent, Mizuho Financial soared 4.18 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial collected 1.51 percent, Mitsubishi Electric skyrocketed 7.56 percent, Sony Group plunged 4.56 percent, Panasonic Holdings expanded 2.21 percent and Hitachi tumbled 4.11 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened mixed but quickly diverged, finally finishing the session on opposite sides of the unchanged line.
The Dow rallied 260.31 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 49,501, while the NASDAQ tumbled 350.61 points or 1.51 percent to end at 22,904.58 and the S&P 500 sank 35.09 points or 0.51 percent to close at 6,882.72.
The advance by the Dow was fueled by stocks like Amgen (AMGN), 3M (MMM) and Nike (NKE), which saw better than expected quarterly results.
Meanwhile, traders continued to rotate out of the tech sector, dragging the NASDAQ lower as semiconductor stocks showed a substantial move to the downside.
In U.S. economic news, payroll processor ADP said private sector employment in the U.S. increased by much less than expected in January. Also, the Institute for Supply Management said its reading on U.S. service sector activity came in unchanged last month.
Crude oil prices surged on Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said inventories in the U.S. fell far more than expected. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was up $1.97 or 3.12 percent at $65.18 per barrel.
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