TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had jumped almost 2,250 points or 3 percent. The Nikkei 225 sits just above the 67,470-point plateau although it's likely to bounce higher again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mostly positive on easing oil prices and optimism for an end to hostilities in the Middle East. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourse were mostly higher and the Asian markets are also tipped to move to the upside.
The Nikkei finished sharply lower on Thursday following losses from the technology stocks and mixed performances from the financial shares and automobile producers.
For the day, the index retreated 931.45 points or 1.36 percent to finish at 67,470.69 after trading between 66,920.80 and 68,051.94.
Among the actives, Nissan Motor skidded 1.12 percent, while Mazda Motor rose 0.27 percent, Toyota Motor retreated 1.48 percent, Honda Motor added 0.53 percent, Softbank Group cratered 11.28 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial climbed 1.02 percent, Mizuho Financial perked 0.16 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial fell 0.31 percent, Mitsubishi Electric tumbled 2.19 percent, Sony Group tanked 2.18 percent, Panasonic Holdings plunged 2.96 percent and Hitachi slumped 1.65 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday and then tracked steadily higher throughout the day but still ended on opposite sides of the line.
The Dow soared 874.86 points or 1.73 percent to finish at a record 51,561.93, while the NASDAQ dipped 23.02 points or 0.09 percent to close at 26,830.96 and the S&P 500 added 30.63 points or 0.41 percent to end at 7,584.31.
The rebound by the Dow reflected a spike by shares of UnitedHealth (UNH) following an upgrade by Bank of America. Dow components American Express (AXP), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Merck (MRK) also posted strong gains.
The NASDAQ climbed well off its worst levels but still ended the day modestly lower amid weakness among technology stocks.
A steep drop by shares of Broadcom (AVGO) weighed on the tech sector, despite fiscal Q2 earnings that exceeded estimates although the company failed to raise its full-year forecast of $100 billion in AI chip sales.
Crude oil prices plunged on Wednesday on hopes of de-escalation in the Middle East following an Israel-Lebanon ceasefire announcement. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was down $3.00 or 3.12 percent at $93.02 per barrel.
Closer to home, Japan will on Friday release April numbers for household spending later this morning. Spending is expected to add 0.8 percent on month and fall 1.5 percent on year and sinking 1.3 percent on month and 2.9 percent on year in March.
Japan also will see preliminary April results for its leading and coincident indexes; in March, they were up 0.8 percent and 0.2 percent on month, respectively.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
