TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japan stock market on Tuesday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had spiked almost 2,200 points or 3.2 percent. The Nikkei 225 now sits just beneath the 65,270-point plateau and it's expected to open under water again on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak on persistent hostilities in the Middle East and the resulting spike in crude oil prices. The European markets were flat and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The Nikkei finished sharply lower on Tuesday following losses among the technology, automobile, machinery and paper sectors, although the refiners saw a boost.
For the day, the index tumbled 1,130.52 points or 1.70 percent to finish at the daily low of 65,269.33 after peaking at 66,791.84.
The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and remained under water throughout the trading day, ending at session lows.
The Dow tumbled 628.18 points or 1.18 percent to finish at 52,786.07, while the NASDAQ sank 85.58 points or 0.32 percent to close at 26,421.41 and the S&P 500 shed 45.08 points or 0.58 percent to end at 7,673.52.
The weakness on Wall Street came amid a sharp increase by the price of crude oil due to the continued escalation of the conflict in the Middle East after the U.S. struck three Iranian crude oil carriers over the weekend.
Iran has threatened to retaliate against any new U.S. attacks on its assets and Saudi-led coalition forces vowed a resolute response to a wave of attacks from Houthi rebels.
Crude oil prices surged on Tuesday as U.S. forces and Iran continue to trade attacks, fueling supply concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was last up $1.31 or 1.43 percent at $92.79 per barrel.
Closer to home, Japan will provide August numbers for money stocks later this morning, with forecasts suggesting no change for M2 at 2.2 percent.
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