TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market on Thursday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had rallied almost 2,250 points or 4.2 percent. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 53,600-point plateau and it's expected to see continued consolidation on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on concerns over the conflict in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.
The Nikkei finished modestly lower on Thursday as losses from the financial shares and technology stocks were mitigated by support from the automobile companies.
For the day, the index sank 145.97 points or 0.27 percent to finish at 53,603.65 after trading between 53,176.77 and 54,175.80.
Among the actives, Nissan Motor climbed 1.03 percent, while Mazda Motor perked 0.09 percent, Toyota Motor accelerated 1.50 percent, Honda Motor added 0.46 percent, Softbank Group collected 0.34 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial shed 0.66 percent, Mizuho Financial sank 0.83 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial retreated 1.22 percent, Mitsubishi Electric tumbled 1.50 percent, Sony Group slumped 1.47 percent, Panasonic Holdings rallied 2.43 percent and Hitachi tanked 2.09 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is bleak as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and continued to trend sharply lower as the day progressed, ending at session lows.
The Dow tumbled 469.38 points or 1.01 percent to finish at 45,960.11, while the NASDAQ plummeted 521.75 points or 2.38 percent to close at 21,408.08 and the S&P 500 slumped 114.74 points or 1.74 percent to end at 6,477.16.
The sell-off on Wall Street extended the see-saw trend seen over the past few sessions, as traders reacted to continued volatility by the price of crude oil.
Crude prices skyrocketed Thursday as the U.S.-Iran standoff over the 15-point peace proposal deepens the Middle East conflict. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was up $4.51 or 4.99 percent at $94.83 per barrel.
Concerns about further widening of the conflict also weighed on the markets after several Gulf countries issued a joint statement condemning Iran's 'criminal' attacks on their energy infrastructure.
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