Japan Stock Market May Extend Monday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market on Monday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had improved more than 800 points or 2.3 percent. The Nikkei 225 now sits just shy of the 34,280-point plateau and it may take further damage again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative on continuing concerns over the possibility of a trade war. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The Nikkei finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.

For the day, the index plunged 450.36 points or 1.30 percent to finish at 34,279.92 after trading between 34,216.98 and 34,610.60.

Among the actives, Nissan Motor stumbled 2.21 percent, while Mazda Motor plunged 5.04 percent, Toyota Motor tanked 2.89 percent, Honda Motor skidded 1.00 percent, Softbank Group tumbled 2.33 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial retreated 1.93 percent, Mizuho Financial surrendered 2.39 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial declined 2.11 percent, Mitsubishi Electric slumped 2.13 percent, Sony Group dropped 2.57 percent, Panasonic Holdings sank 2.55 percent and Hitachi added 0.59 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is brutal as the major averages opened sharply lower on Monday and remained deep in the red throughout the session.

The Dow plummeted 971.82 points or 2.48 percent to finish at 38,170.41, while the NASDAQ tumbled 415.55 points or 2.55 percent to close at 16,870.37 and the S&P 500 dropped 124.50 points or 2.36 percent to end at 5,158.20.

The sell-off on Wall Street came amid lingering concerns about a global trade war as traders await signs of progress from President Donald Trump's trade talks.

Potentially adding to the worries, China has threatened to retaliate against any countries that reach a trade deal with the U.S. at the expense of China's interests.

Trump's continued attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell added to the negative sentiment; he called on the Fed to lower rates last week, declaring, "Powell's termination cannot come fast enough!"

Crude oil prices pulled back sharply Monday on reports of progress in negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, while trade war concerns also weighed. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery plunged $1.60 or 2.5 percent to $63.08 a barrel.