Japan Shares May Reverse Tuesday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market on Tuesday wrote a finish to the three-day winning streak in which it had surged more than 1,700 points or 3.9 percent. The Nikkei 225 now sits just beneath the 43,460-point plateau although it may bounce higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside on growing optimism about the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Nikkei finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the financial shares and mixed performances from the technology and automobile sectors.

For the day, the index dropped 184.52 points or 0.42 percent to finish at 43,459.29 after trading between 43,452.74 and 44,185.73. Among the actives, Nissan Motor climbed 1.08 percent, while Mazda Motor fell 0.30 percent, Toyota Motor sank 0.71 percent, Honda Motor rose 0.21 percent, Softbank Group tanked 4.35 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial skidded 1.12 percent, Mizuho Financial retreated 1.55 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial declined 1.42 percent, Mitsubishi Electric advanced 1.12 percent, Sony Group improved 0.79 percent, Panasonic Holdings shed 0.45 percent and Hitachi gained 1.14 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages shook off early weakness on Tuesday and trended generally higher to finish at record closing highs.

The Dow climbed 196.39 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 45,711.34, while the NASDAQ improved 80.79 points or 0.37 percent to close at 21,193.11 and the S&P 500 gained 17.46 points or 0.27 percent to end at 6,512.61.

The strength on Wall Street reflected ongoing optimism about the outlook for interest rates ahead of closely watched inflation data in the coming days. The Labor Department is scheduled to release reports on producer price inflation and consumer price inflation today and tomorrow, respectively.

While last Friday's weaker-than-expected jobs data increased confidence that the Fed will cut interest rates at its meeting next week, the inflation data could influence how aggressively the central bank lowers rates.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department said non-farm employment for the 12 months through March 2025 was downwardly revised by 911,000 jobs, also fueling optimism for a rate cut.

Crude oil advanced on Tuesday, extending gains for the second day amid increasing expectations of western sanctions against Russia, while the Israeli attack on Qatar added support to oil prices. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $0.29 or 0.47 percent at $62.55 per barrel.