Japan Shares Due For Consolidation On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, accelerating more than 3,380 points or 7.5 percent along the way. Now at a fresh record closing high, the Nikkei 225 sits just above the 47,950-point plateau although investors figure to lock in gains on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with profit taking expected especially among the technology shares. 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 barely higher on Tuesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.

For the day, the index perked 6.12 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 47,950.88 after trading between 47,904.38 and 48,527.33. Among the actives, Nissan Motor accelerated 3.17 percent, while Mazda Motor shed 0.65 percent, Toyota Motor jumped 1.65 percent, Honda Motor added 0.50 percent, Softbank Group climbed 1.11 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial dropped 0.97 percent, Mizuho Financial sank 0.75 percent, Mitsubishi Electric fell 0.25 percent, Sony Group perked 0.11 percent, Panasonic Holdings rallied 2.89 percent, Hitachi eased 0.07 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened slightly higher on Tuesday but quickly headed south and spent the balance of the day in the red, ending near session lows.

The Dow slumped 91.99 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 46,602.98, while the NASDAQ dropped 153.30 points or 0.67 percent to end at 22,788.36 and the S&P 500 sank 25.69 points or 0.38 percent to close at 6,714.59.

The pullback on Wall Street reflected profit taking following recent strength in the markets, which saw the S&P 500 close higher for seven straight sessions.

A slump by shares of Oracle (ORCL) also weighed on the markets following reports that raised questions about the profitability of its artificial intelligence rollout.

Lingering concerns about the economic impact of the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, which has led to the indefinite delay of U.S. economic data, including the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report.

Crude oil prices crept slightly higher on Tuesday, despite forecasts of weakening oil demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery was up $0.02 or 0.03 percent at $61.71 per barrel.

Closer to home, Japan will see August figures for current account and September data for bank lending and the eco watchers survey later today. The current account is expected to show a surplus of 3.540 trillion yen, up from 2.684 trillion yen in July. Overall bank lending is seen higher by an annual 3.7 percent, up from 3.6 percent in August. The eco watchers survey is tipped to show a score of 47.0, up from 46.7 a month earlier.