Japan Stock Market Tipped To Open In The Red

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market rebounded on Monday, one session after snapping the two-day winning streak in which it had rallied more than 370 points or 1 percent. The Nikkei 225 now rests just shy of the 37,030-point plateau although it figures to head south again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative on recession fears and concerns over the health of the world economy. The European and U.S. markets finished sharply lower and the Asian bourses are expected to open under pressure as well. The Nikkei finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the automobile producers, weakness from the technology stocks and a mixed picture from the financial shares. For the day, the index added 141.10 points or 0.38 percent to finish at 37,028.27 after trading between 36,705.02 and 37,113.48. Among the actives, Nissan Motor retreated 1.46 percent, while Mazda Motor added 0.68 percent, Toyota Motor advanced 0.93 percent, Honda Motor accelerated 0.91 percent, Softbank Group strengthened 1.43 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial eased 0.13 percent, Mizuho Financial declined 1.53 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial skidded 1.17 percent, Mitsubishi Electric tumbled 1.60 percent, Sony Group tanked 3.11 percent, Panasonic Holdings slumped 1.57 percent and Hitachi surrendered 2.81 percent.

The lead from Wall Street suggests continued consolidation as the major averages opened lower on Monday and continued to weaken as the day progressed.

The Dow plummeted 890.01 points or 2.08 percent to finish at 41,911.71, while the NASDAQ crashed 727.90 points or 4.00 percent to close at 17,468.32 and the S&P 500 stumbled 155.64 points or 2.70 percent to end at 5,614.56.

The weakness on Wall Street came amidst rising concerns about the outlook for economic growth and corporate earnings after U.S. President Donald Trump declined to rule out the possibility of a recession following his tariff actions on Mexico, Canada and China.

With a slew of crucial economic data due later in the week, the mood in the market is extremely cautious. On tap are reports on consumer and producer price inflation, as well as readings on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations.

Oil prices fell to six-month lows on Monday as worries about global economic growth and fears of a U.S. recession fueled demand concerns. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures settled lower by $1.01 or 1.5 percent at $66.03 a barrel, the lowest settlement since September 10, 2024.

Closer to home, Japan will release Q4 figures for gross domestic product this morning. GDP is expected to rise 0.7 percent on quarter and 1.4 percent on year after adding 0.3 percent on quarter and 1.2 percent on year in the three months prior. Capital expenditure is seen higher by 0.5 percent on quarter after slipping 0.1 percent in Q3.

Japan also will see January numbers for household spending and February figures for money supply. Household spending is tipped to fall 1.9 percent on month and rise 3.7 percent on year after gaining 2.3 percent on month and 2.7 percent on year in December. The M2 money stock is tipped to rise 1.4 percent on year, up from 1.3 percent in January.