Japan Stock Market May Hand Back Tuesday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market on Tuesday ended the two-day losing streak in which it had dropped almost 650 points or 1.4 percent. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 42,310-point plateau although it may see renewed consolidation on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on renewed ambiguity surrounding U.S. tariff policies. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The Nikkei finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the automobile producers and financial shares, while the technology stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index gained 121.70 points or 0.29 percent to finish at 42,310.49 after trading between 42,084.78 and 42,473.67. Among the actives, Nissan Motor added 0.54 percent, while Mazda Motor accelerated 1.76 percent, Toyota Motor rose 0.37 percent, Honda Motor and Mitsubishi Electric both perked 0.09 percent, Softbank Group shed 0.45 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial advanced 0.96 percent, Mizuho Financial collected 0.81 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial jumped 1.82 percent, Sony Group dipped 0.17 percent, Panasonic Holdings rallied 1.42 percent and Hitachi lost 0.38 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower and remained in the red throughout the day, although off session lows.

The Dow dropped 249.07 points or 0.55 percent to finish at 45,295.81, while the NASDAQ sank 175.92 points or 0.82 percent to end at 21,279.63 and the S&P 500 lost 44.72 points or 0.69 percent to close at 6,415.54.

The early sell-off on Wall Street came amid renewed trade uncertainty after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled most of President Donald Trump's global tariffs are illegal.

Treasury yields surged in reaction to the ruling amid concerns the government may have to repay the billions of dollars already brought in through Trump's tariffs.

In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing a slight increase by its reading on U.S. manufacturing activity in August, although the index still posted its sixth consecutive month of contraction.

Crude oil jumped on Tuesday on concerns about supply disruptions increased following strikes on Russian energy sites by Ukraine. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $1.51 or 2.36 percent at $65.52 per barrel.