Japan Shares Tipped To Open In The Red

(RTTNews) - The Japan stock market rebounded on Monday, one session after ending the three-day winning streak in which it had surged more than 3,000 points or 5 percent. The Nikkei finished just above the 58,820-point plateau although it's looking at a soft start on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft thanks to recent developments in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The Nikkei finished modestly higher on Monday following mixed performances from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.

For the day, the index gained 348.99 points or 0.60 percent to finish at 58,824.89 after trading between 58,687.96 and 59,169.13. Among the actives, Nissan Motor accelerated 2.60 percent, while Mazda Motor shed 0.54 percent, Toyota Motor eased 0.06 percent, Honda Motor spiked 3.03 percent, Softbank Group jumped 2.18 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial tanked 2.58 percent, Mizuho Financial retreated 1.41 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial tumbled 2.02 percent, Mitsubishi Electric jumped 1.89 percent, Sony Group shed 0.68 percent, Panasonic Holdings lost 0.45 percent and Hitachi slumped 1.28 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed on Monday but quickly turned lower and ended in the red, although off of session lows.

The Dow dipped 4.87 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 49,442.56, while the NASDAQ shed 64.09 points or 0.26 percent to close at 24,404.39 and the S&P 500 sank 16.92 points or 0.24 percent to end at 7,109.14.

The modest weakness on Wall Street came amid concerns about the re-escalation of tensions between the U.S. and Iran following the latest developments in the Middle East.

Over the weekend, Iran once again closed the Strait of Hormuz and purportedly fired on tankers in the vital waterway, blaming the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports for the moves.

The latest threats combined with news that U.S. forces have seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman, contributed to a significant rebound by the price of crude oil.

Crude oil prices skyrocketed on Monday after the U.S. seized an Iranian cargo ship and Iran vowed to retaliate, renewing supply-related concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was up $5.54 or 6.61 percent at $89.39 per barrel.