Japanese Market Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is trading modestly lower on Monday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday, with the Nikkei 225 falling well below the 53,750 level, with weakness automakers, exporters and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 105.69 points or 0.20 percent at 53,713.92, after hitting a low of 53,554.53 earlier. Japanese shares ended significantly lower on Friday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining almost 3 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is down almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing almost 1 percent and Toyota is edging down 0.2 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 1 percent and Screen Holdings is adding more than 2 percent, while Tokyo Electron is edging down 0.4 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging down 0.2 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is declining more than 1 percent and Mizuho Financial is losing almost 1 percent.

The major exporters are lower. Panasonic, Mitsubishi Electric and Sony are losing almost 1 percent each, while Canon is flat.

Among the other major losers, Sumitomo Metal Mining is declining almost 4 percent, while Nissan Motor, Tokyo Electric Power and Ebara are losing more than 3 percent each. TDK, Chugai Pharmaceutical and Ryohin Keikaku are down almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Denka is advancing almost 5 percent, while Osaka Gas and NH Foods are gaining almost 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 159 yen-range on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks rebounded in early trading on Friday but showed a notable move back to the downside as the day progressed following the sell-off seen during Thursday's session. The major averages pulled back well off their early highs and into negative territory.

The major averages added to the steep losses posted in the previous session, falling to new three-month closing lows. The Nasdaq slid 206.62 points or 0.9 percent to 22,105.36, the S&P 500 fell 10.43 points or 0.6 percent to 6,632.19 and the Dow dipped 119.38 points or 0.3 percent to 46,558.47.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.9 percent, the German DAX Index decreased by 0.6 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent.

Crude oil prices again showed a substantial move to the upside on Friday as uncertainty prevails about the timeline for ending the war. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery was up $3.35 or 3.50 percent at $98.08 per barrel.