Japanese Market Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is modestly lower on Wednesday, giving up the gains in the previous session, with the Nikkei 225 staying a tad above the 28,000 mark, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, dragged by energy stocks as crude oil prices tumbled, even as traders remain concerned over an economic slowdown and the outlook for interest rates.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 155.35 points or 0.55 percent at 28,040.23, after hitting a low of 27,906.17 earlier. Japanese stocks closed significantly higher on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging up 0.4 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda and Toyota are edging down 0.3 to 0.4 percent.

In the tech space, Screen Holdings and Advantest are losing almost 1 percent each, while Tokyo Electron is flat.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial is flat, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are edging down 0.4 to 0.5 percent each.

Among the major exporters, Sony and Canon are losing almost 2 percent each, while Panasonic is edging up 0.4 percent. Mitsubishi Electric is flat.

Among the other major losers, Inpex is losing almost 4 percent, while Idemitsu Kosan, Pacific Metals and ENEOS Holdings are down almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Kyocera is gaining almost 4 percent and Japan Steel Works is adding more than 3 percent.

In economic news, the value of retail sales in Japan was up 2.4 percent on year in July, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry or METI said on Wednesday, coming in at 13.038 trillion yen. That beat forecasts for a gain of 1.9 percent following the 1.5 percent increase in June. On a monthly basis, retail sales rose 0.8 percent - in line with expectations following the upwardly revised 1.3 percent decline in the previous month (originally -1.4 percent).

The METI also said industrial output in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 1.0 percent on month in July. That exceeded expectations for a decline of 0.5 percent following the upwardly revised 9.2 percent increase in June (originally 8.9 percent). On a yearly basis, industrial production sank 1.8 percent - roughly in line with expectations after slipping 2.8 percent in the previous month.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 138 yen-range on Wednesday.

On Wall Street, stocks showed another significant move to the downside during trading on Tuesday after extending last Friday's sell-off to start the week. The major averages all moved notably lower, ending the session at their worst levels in a month.

The major averages climbed off their lows of the session in late-day trading but remained firmly negative. The Dow slumped 308.12 points or 1 percent to 31,790.87, the Nasdaq plunged 134.53 points or 1.1 percent to 11,883.14 and the S&P 500 tumbled 44.45 points or 1.1 percent to 3,986.16.

Meanwhile, the major European markets finished the day mixed. While the German DAX Index rose by 0.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.9 percent.

Crude oil prices showed a substantial move to the downside during trading on Tuesday amid concerns higher interest rates will lead to a global economic slowdown, reducing energy demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery plunged $5.37 or 5 percent to $91.64 a barrel.