TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese market is trading sharply lower on Thursday, extending the losses in the previous five sessions, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling well below the 65,200 level, with weakness across most sectors led by index heavyweights and technology stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 2,581.56 points or 3.81 percent to 65,162.73, after hitting a low of 65,121.37 earlier. Japanese stocks ended slightly lower on Wednesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is plunging more than 9 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is edging up 0.1 percent, while Honda is losing almost 1 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is plunging almost 10 percent, Tokyo Electron is tumbling almost 7 percent and Screen Holdings is sliding more than 8 percent.
In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are declining almost 2 percent each, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing more than 1 percent.
Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is declining more than 4 percent and Panasonic is slipping more than 6 percent, while Sony is gaining almost 1 percent. Canon is flat.
Among other major losers, Ibiden is plunging almost 13 percent, while Kioxia Holdings and Sumco are tumbling more than 10 percent each. Kokusai Electric, Lasertec and Fujikura are slipping almost 10 percent each, while Furukawa Electric is sliding more than 9 percent and Mitsui Kinzoku are declining more than 8 percent. Ebara and JX Advanced Metals are losing almost 8 percent each, while Murata Manufacturing and Yaskawa Electric are down more than 7 percent each. Ebara Corp.
Conversely, Sumitomo Pharma is soaring almost 11 percent and Ryohin Keikaku is surging almost 8 percent, while Otsuka Holdings and Takeda Pharmaceutical are advancing almost 4 percent each. Astellas Pharma, Chugai Pharmaceutical, Oriental Land and J. Front Retailing are gaining more than 3 percent each, while Pan Pacific International and Shionogi & Co. are adding almost 3 percent each.
In economic news, the value of core machinery orders in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 5.2 percent on month in August, the Cabinet Office said on Thursday - coming in at 1,069.8 billion yen. That beat forecasts for an increase of 2.2 percent following the 3.7 percent decline in July. On a yearly basis, orders jumped 18.6 percent - again surpassing expectations for 15.7 percent and up from 11.2 percent in the previous month.
For the third quarter of 2026, orders are forecast to add 4.9 percent on quarter and 19.9 percent on year. The total value of machinery orders received by 280 manufacturers operating in Japan sank 3.7 percent on month but surged 26.1 percent on year in August.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 157 yen-range on Thursday.
On Wall Street, stocks showed a more significant move to the downside during trading on Wednesday after ending yesterday's choppy trading day modestly lower. The tech-heavy Nasdaq saw a particularly steep drop on the day.
The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the end of the day but still closed in the red. The Nasdaq tumbled 511.51 points or 1.9 percent to 26,692.87 and the S&P 500 slumped 86.51 points or 1.1 percent to 7,7718.94. The narrower Dow posted a much more modest loss, with the blue chip index edging down 48.62 points or 0.1 percent to 51,621.48.
Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.6 percent and the German DAX Index rose by 0.2 percent.
Crude oil prices spiked on Wednesday after the International Energy Agency warned that the recent escalation in attacks on regional energy infrastructure and tanker traffic in the Middle East is threatening to derail a recovery in oil supply. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery climbed $1.20 or 1.3 percent to $95.34 a barrel.
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