Japanese Market Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - Reversing the gains in the previous session, the Japanese stock market is modestly lower in choppy trading on Friday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark Nikkei 225 is falling to near the 38,600 level, with weakness across most sectors led by index heavyweights and exporter stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is losing 95.10 points or 0.25 percent to 38,608.41, after touching a high of 38,747.27 and a low of 38,597.55 earlier. Japanese stocks closed significantly higher on Thursday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 1 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging down 0.1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing almost 1 percent and Toyota is edging down 0.4 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is losing more than 1 percent and Tokyo Electron is declining almost 1 percent, while Screen Holdings is gaining almost 1 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing more than 1 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are gaining almost 1 percent each.

Among major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is edging down 0.2 percent, while Panasonic and Sony are declining more than 1 percent each. Canon is gaining more than 1 percent.

Among other major losers, Shionogi & Co. is plummeting almost 14 percent after the Japanese pharmaceutical giant released its latest R&D report detailing its pipeline projects.

Conversely, Lasertec is surging almost 6 percent, while Nitto Denko and J. Front Retailing are gaining more than 5 percent each. Sumitomo Electric Industries is adding more than 3 percent and Mercari is advancing almost 3 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 155 yen-range on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Thursday following the rally seen over the course of Wednesday's session. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing narrowly mixed.

While the Dow rose 78.84 points or 0.2 percent to 38,886.17, the Nasdaq slipped 14.78 points or 0.1 percent to 17,173.12 and the S&P 500 edged down 1.07 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 5,352.96.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside after the European Central Bank lowered interest rates. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both rose by 0.4 percent.

Crude oil prices moved higher for a second straight session on Thursday, after five successive days of losses. The decision of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, collectively known as OPEC+, to phase out voluntary production cuts from October weighed on prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended up by $1.48 or nearly 2% at $75.55 a barrel.