TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market on Thursday ended the two-day losing streak in which it had tumbled almost 3,900 points or 6 percent. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 66,210-point plateau although it may head south again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak thanks to surging oil prices and continued unrest in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are likely to follow suit.
The Nikkei finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the automobile, utility and technology sectors.
For the day, the index jumped 890.37 points or 1.36 percent to finish at 66,216.79 after trading between 65,652.25 and 66,325.32.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened under water on Thursday and continued to trend lower as the day progressed, ending near session lows.
The Dow tumbled 703.84 points or 1.32 percent to finish at 52,759.21, while the NASDAQ dropped 263.92 points or 1.00 percent to close at 26,067.17 and the S&P 500 sank 66.82 points or 0.87 percent to end at 7,641.16.
The weakness on Wall Street came as the price of crude oil extended a recent surge amid concerns about the conflict in the Middle East following President Donald Trump's latest threats or economic warfare.
Crude oil prices surged on Thursday after Trump announced his stringent economic measures against Iran. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was up $2.01 or 2.34 percent at $87.84 per barrel.
The sharp increase in the price of crude oil also contributed to a substantial rebound by treasury yields, which had tumbled on Wednesday after the Treasury Department announced upscaled buyback operations for longer-term debt.
Closer to home, Japan will release July figures for consumer prices later this morning. In June, overall inflation was up 0.3 percent on month and 1.7 percent on year, while core CPI rose an annual 1.6 percent.
Japan also will see preliminary August results for the manufacturing, services and composite PMIs from S&P Global; in July, their scores were 54.5, 51.2 and 52.7, respectively.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
