Japan Stock Market Expected To Open In The Green

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market on Friday ended the three-day winning streak in which it had improved almost 725 points or 1.5 percent. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 45,350-point plateau although it may moved back to the upside again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The Nikkei finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the technology stocks and mixed performances from the financial shares and automobile producers.

For the day, the index plunged 399.94 points or 0.87 percent to finish at 45,354.99 after trading between 45,354.99 and 45,766.77. Among the actives, Nissan Motor stumbled 2.80 percent, while Mazda Motor accelerated 1.47 percent, Toyota Motor rose 0.27 percent, Honda Motor and Panasonic Holdings both shed 0.60 percent, Softbank Group plunged 3.75 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial advanced 0.91 percent, Mizuho Financial collected 0.30 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial added 0.50 percent, Mitsubishi Electric dipped 0.16 percent, Sony Group slumped 1.23 percent and Hitachi tumbled 2.26 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Friday and spent most of the day in the green.

The Dow jumped 299.97 points or 0.65 percent to finish at 46,247.29, while the NASDAQ advanced 99.37 points or 0.44 percent to close at 22,484.07 and the S&P 500 gained 38.98 points or 0.59 percent to end at 6,643.70.

For the week, the NASDAQ slid 0.7 percent, the S&P fell 0.3 percent and the Dow dipped 0.2 percent.

The strength on Wall Street reflected a positive reaction to a closely watched Commerce Department report showing consumer prices rose in line with economist estimates in August.

The data helped increase confidence that the Federal Reserve will continue lowering interest rates in the coming months.

Crude oil prices advanced on Friday as Russia restricted fuel exports by introducing a partial ban on diesel exports until the end of 2025. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery was up $0.59 or 0.91 percent at $65.57 per barrel.

Closer to home, Japan will release July results for its leading and coincident indexes later today. The leading index is expected to rise 0.8 percent on month for the second straight month, while the coincident is seen lower by 2.6 percent after adding 0.7 percent in June.