Japanese Market Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - Snapping a three-session winning streak, the Japanese market is modestly lower on Friday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling below the 45,700 level, with weakness in technology stocks partially offset by gains in exporters and financial stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 88.32 points or 0.19 percent to 45,666.61, after hitting a low of 45,423.08 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly higher on Thursday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 3 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.5 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is edging up 0.5 percent and Honda is also edging up 0.3 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is losing more than 1 percent, Tokyo Electron is declining more than 3 percent and Screen Holdings is slipping more than 2 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Mizuho Financial is edging up 0.4 percent.

Among the major exporters, Sony and Canon are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Panasonic and Mitsubishi Electric are edging up 0.3 to 0.5 percent each.

Among other major losers, Lasertec is tumbling almost 6 percent, while Sumco and Disco are declining more than 5 percent each. Resonac Holdings, Sumitomo Pharma is losing more than 4 percent, Otsuka Holdings is slipping almost 4 percent and Renesas Electronics is down more than 3 percent, while Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsui Mining & Smelting are sliding almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, FUJIFILM is gaining more than 4 percent, Tokyo Electric Power is adding almost 4 percent and Mitsubishi Estate is advancing more than 3 percent, while Ajinomoto, Konami Group and BayCurrent are up almost 3 percent each.

In economic news, overall inflation in the Tokyo region of Japan was up 2.5 percent on year in September, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday. That was shy of expectations for an annual increase of 2.6 percent, which would have been unchanged from the August reading.

Core CPI, which excludes the volatile cost of food, also was up 2.5 percent on year. That missed forecasts for an increase of 2.6 percent but was unchanged from the previous month's reading. The preliminary read on Japan's overall inflation suggested a 1.0 percent increase on year.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 149 yen-range on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks saw further downside during trading on Thursday following the pullback seen over the two previous sessions. The major averages continued to give back ground after ending Monday's trading at new record closing highs.

The major averages ended the day well off their lows of the session but still firmly negative. The Nasdaq slid 113.16 points or 0.5 percent to 22,384.70, the S&P 500 declined 33.25 points or 0.5 percent to 6,604.72 and the Dow fell 173.96 points or 0.4 percent to 45,947.32.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index slid by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both fell by 0.4 percent.

Crude oil prices inched higher on Thursday amid the possibility of Russian oil exports being hit by sanctions by the U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery was up $0.08 or 0.12 percent at $65.07 per barrel.