Japan Stock Market Tipped To Open In The Red

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, advancing more than 350 points or 0.9 percent in that span. The Nikkei 225 now rests just above the 38,025-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on tariff concerns, particularly among the technology companies. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The Nikkei finished modestly higher on Wednesday as gains from the financial shares and technology stocks were capped by weakness from the automobile producers.

For the day, the index gained 246.75 points or 0.65 percent to finish at 38,027.29 after trading between 37,873.28 and 38,220.69.

Among the actives, Nissan Motor fell 0.36 percent, while Mazda Motor shed 0.60 percent, Toyota Motor perked 0.17 percent, Honda Motor lost 0.67 percent, Softbank Group strengthened 1.41 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial slipped 0.21 percent, Mizuho Financial collected 0.83 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial added 0.60 percent, Mitsubishi Electric spiked 3.52 percent, Sony Group rallied 2.28 percent, Panasonic Holdings improved 0.73 percent and Hitachi gained 0.85 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened mixed on Wednesday but all trended lower as the day progressed, ending solidly under water.

The Dow dropped 132.71 points or 0.31 percent to finish at 42,454.79, while the NASDAQ tumbled 372.84 points or 2.04 percent to close at 17,899.02 and the S&P 500 sank 64,45 points or 1.12 percent to end at 5,712.20.

The sharp pullback by the NASDAQ came as big-name tech stocks came under pressure, reflecting ongoing uncertainty about President Donald Trump's tariff plans.

Stocks saw further downside after the White House said Trump plans to announce new tariffs on auto imports later this afternoon.

In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department noted an unexpected increase by new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in the month of February.

Oil prices moved higher Wednesday on supply concerns after data showed a sharp drop in U.S. crude oil inventories last week, while renewed efforts from the U.S. to limit Venezuelan and Iranian oil exports also boosted prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May closed up $0.65 or about 0.94 percent at $69.65 a barrel.