Japanese Market Sharply Lower

(RTTNews) - Snapping the gains in the previous two sessions, the Japanese market is trading sharply lower on Thursday, following the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling well below the 31,600 level, dragged by weakness across most sectors led by exporters and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 530.11 points or 1.65 percent to 31,512.14, after hitting a low of 31,466.41 earlier. Japanese stocks closed slightly higher on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 1 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is declining more than 2 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is losing almost 1 percent and Honda is down 1.5 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is losing almost 3 percent, Tokyo Electron is declining more than 4 percent and Screen Holdings is down almost 4 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing 1.5 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are declining almost 2 percent each.

Among the major exporters, Sony is losing almost 1 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is declining more than 2 percent and Panasonic is down almost 3 percent, while Canon is adding more than 1 percent.

Among other major losers, Mitsubishi Motors and Daiichi Sankyo are losing more than 4 percent each, while Hoya and Yaskawa Electric are down almost 4 percent each. Fujikura and Toyota Tsusho are slipping more than 3 percent each, while Lasertec, Sharp, M3, Nissan Motor, IHI and Mazda Motor are declining almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, there are no other major gainers.

In economic news, Japan posted a merchandise trade surplus of 62.4 billion yen in September, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday. That blew away expectations for a deficit of 425.0 billion yen following the 937.8 billion yen shortfall in August.

Exports were up 4.3 percent on year, beating forecasts for an increase of 3.1 percent after easing 0.8 percent in the previous month. Imports slumped an annual 16.3 percent versus expectations for a decline of 12.9 percent following the 17.7 percent contraction a month earlier.

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

On Wall Street, stocks turned in a weak performance on Wednesday, drifting lower and lower as the session progressed amid rising tensions in the Middle East, and higher bond yields on concerns about the outlook for interest rates. According to reports, a deadly missile attack on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza killed several hundred people including women and children.

The major averages all ended notably lower, with the Nasdaq suffering a more pronounced loss. The Dow ended down 332.57 points or 0.98 percent at 33,665.08. The S&P 500 finished lower by 58.60 points or 1.34 percent at 4,314.60, while the Nasdaq dropped 219.44 points or 1.62 percent to 13,314.30.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended down 1.14 percent, Germany's DAX drifted down 1.03 percent, and France's CAC 40 lost 0.91 percent.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Wednesday on rising concerns over supplies as geopolitical concerns escalated after the large explosion at the Gaza hospital. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November jumped $1.66 or 1.9 percent at $88.32 a barrel.