Japan Stock Market May Extend Monday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market headed south again on Monday, one session after halting the two-day winning streak in which it had climbed more than 730 points or 1.2 percent. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 66,310-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on renewed concerns over the conflict in the Middle East and the corresponding jump in crude oil prices. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Nikkei finished modestly lower on Monday as losses from the air, semiconductor and brokerage sectors were mitigated by support from the utilities, miners and banks.

For the day, the index dipped 93.63 points or 0.14 percent to finish at the daily high of 66,311.93 after trading as low as 64,832.10.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened firmly lower on Monday and stayed that way throughout the session.

The Dow dropped 374.09 points or 0.70 percent to finish at 53,185.90, while the NASDAQ sank 31.54 points or 0.12 percent to close at 26,370.89 and the S&P 500 lost 25.62 points or 0.33 percent to end at 7,686.14.

The weakness on Wall Street came on concerns about a re-escalation of the military conflict in the Middle East following a period of relative calm, contributing to a jump in crude oil prices.

Crude oil prices jumped on Monday as the U.S. recommenced attacks on Iran, stoking concerns of a broader re-escalation in the gulf. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $2.24 or 2.69 percent at $85.64 per barrel.

The sharp increase in crude oil prices contributed to renewed worries about the outlook for inflation ahead of this month's Federal Reserve meeting. Treasury yields then moved higher on the day, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note reaching its highest levels in over a year.

Closer to home, Japan will release Q2 figures for capital spending later this morning; capex is expected to slip 0.2 percent on year following the flat reading in the previous three months.