Japanese Market Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is trading modestly lower on Wednesday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling below the 49,300 level, with weakness in exporters and a mixed performance across most other sectors.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 110.00 or 0.22 percent at 49,273.29, after hitting a low of 49,077.81 earlier. Japanese stocks ended sharply lower on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing 1.5 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing almost 1 percent and Toyota is flat.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 2 percent and Screen Holdings is edging down 0.1 percent, while Tokyo Electron is edging down 0.1 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are flat, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing 1.5 percent.

Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is declining more than 2 percent, Panasonic is losing more than 1 percent, Sony is down almost 1 percent and Canon is edging down 0.4 percent.

Among other major losers, Nissui is declining more than 4 percent, while Japan Steel Works, NTN and ENEOS Holdings are losing almost 4 percent each. M3, Eisai and Taiheiyo Cement are down more than 3 percent each, while Nikon, Resona Holdings, JTEKT and Sharp are slipping almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Dowa Holdings and Sumitomo Metal Mining are gaining more than 4 percent each, while SHIFT is advancing almost 4 percent each.

In economic news, the value of core machinery orders in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 7.0 percent on month in October, the Cabinet Office said on Wednesday - coming in at 992.9 billion yen. That beat forecasts for a decline of 1.8 percent following the 4.2 percent increase in September. On a yearly basis, orders were up 12.5 percent - again surpassing expectations for 3.6 percent and up from 11.6 percent in the previous month.

For the fourth quarter of 2025, core machinery orders are expected to slip 0.9 percent on quarter and rise 2.2 percent on year at 9.474 trillion yen. The total value of machinery orders received by 280 manufacturers operating in Japan decreased a seasonally adjusted 6.8 percent on month and 9.9 percent on year.

Meanwhile, Japan posted a merchandise trade surplus of 322.2 billion yen in November, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday. That beat forecasts for a surplus of 71.2 billion yen following the 226.1 billion yen shortfall in October.

Exports were up 6.1 percent on year at 9.714trillion yen, topping forecasts for 4.8 percent and up from 3.6 percent a month earlier. Imports rose an annual 1.3 percent to 9.392 trillion yen versus forecasts for an increase of 2.5 percent but still up from 0.7 percent in October.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 154 yen-range on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks continued to experience choppy trading on Tuesday following the lackluster performance seen in the previous session. The major averages fluctuated over the course of the trading day before eventually closing on opposite sides of the unchanged line.

While the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 54.05 points or 0.2 percent to 23,111.46, the S&P 500 slipped 16.25 points or 0.2 percent to 6,800.26 and the Dow slid 302.30 points or 0.6 percent to 48,114.26.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid 0.7 percent, the German DAX Index fell by 0.6 percent and the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices extended recent losses Tuesday on lingering oversupply concerns, especially if an end to hostilities between Russia and Ukraine could exacerbate the supply glut. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was down $1.57 or 2.8 percent to $55.25 per barrel.