TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, plunging almost 2,400 points or 4 percent in that span. The Nikkei sits just above the 60,800-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on ongoing pessimism over the conflict in the Middle East and concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The Nikkei finished modestly lower on Monday following heavy losses from the automobile producers, gains from the technology stocks and a mixed picture from the financial sector.
For the day, the index dropped 593.34 points or 0.97 percent to finish at 60,815.95 after trading between 60,376.98 and 61,478.55.
Among the actives, Nissan Motor crashed 5.15 percent, while Mazda Motor tanked 3.34 percent, Toyota Motor plunged 4.23 percent, Honda Motor cratered 6.12 percent, Softbank Group retreated 2.65 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial rallied 2.25 percent, Mizuho Financial plummeted 5.60 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial collected 0.53 percent, Mitsubishi Electric skidded 1.03 percent, Sony Group added 0.56 percent, Panasonic Holdings jumped 1.67 percent and Hitachi eased 0.08 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened higher on Monday but quickly turned tail, finally ending mixed.
The Dow gained 159.95 points or 0.32 percent to finish at 49,686.12, while the NASDAQ slumped 134.41 points or 0.51 percent to end at 26,090.73 and the S&P 500 dipped 5.45 points or 0.07 percent to close at 7,403.05.
The U.S.-Iran war has effectively closed the vital Strait of Hormuz, leading to a spike in crude oil prices and concerns about inflation and the outlook for interest rates.
Treasury yields soared last Friday amid speculation that the Federal Reserve's next interest rate move could be an increase rather than a cut.
The price of crude oil and treasury yields moved to the upside over the course of the day, adding to the negative sentiment on Wall Street.
Crude oil prices surged on Monday as the U.S. takes time to respond to Iran's new peace proposal. West Texas Intermediate crude for June was last up $3.27 or 3.10 percent at $108.69 per barrel.
Closer to home, Japan will on Tuesday release preliminary Q1 figures for gross domestic product later today. GDP is expected to add 0.4 percent on quarter and 1.7 percent on year, up from 0.3 percent on quarter and 1.3 percent on year in the three months prior.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
