Japanese Market Sharply Lower

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is sharply lower on Monday, reversing the gains in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday. The Nikkei 225 is falling well below the 65,100 level, with weakness in index heavyweights, financial and technology stocks partially offset by gains in automaker stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 1,335.65 points or 2.01 percent at 65,069.91, after hitting a low of 64,832.10 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly higher on Friday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 3 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is flat. Among automakers, Honda is gaining almost 1 percent and Toyota is adding more than 1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is tumbling almost 7 percent, while Tokyo Electron and Screen Holdings are losing almost 4 percent each.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are edging down 0.1 to 0.5 percent each.

The major exporters are mostly lower. Mitsubishi Electric is losing almost 3 percent, while Canon and Panasonic are edging down 0.4 percent each. Sony is gaining almost 1 percent.

Among the other major losers, Mitsubishi Materials is plunging almost 6 percent and Japan Steel Works is tumbling more than 5 percent, while Lasertec and Disco are sliding almost 5 percent each. Sumco is slipping more than 4 percent, while Ibiden, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Murata Manufacturing and Renesas Electronics are losing almost 4 percent each. Renesas Electronics, Resonac Holdings and Dowa Holdings are down more than 3 percent each.

Conversely, Kansai Electric Power is jumping almost 6 percent. Tokai Carbon is surging more than 5 percent, JTEKT is advancing more than 4 percent and Sumitomo Pharma is gaining almost 4 percent.

In economic news, retail sales in Japan grew by 4 percent on year in July 2026, exceeding market expectations for a 3 percent rise and accelerating from an upwardly revised 0.6 percent gain in the previous month. The latest reading also marked the fourth consecutive month of growth in retail activity. On a monthly basis, retail sales rose by 2.4 percent in July, recovering from a downwardly revised 3.9 percent decline in June, which was the steepest drop since April 2021.

Industrial production in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent on month in July, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Monday. That beat expectations for a decline of 0.7 percent following the 1.9 percent gain in June. On a yearly basis, production was up 4.1 percent. Upon the release of the data, the METI maintained its assessment of industrial production, saying that it continues to fluctuate indecisively.

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

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Friday after seeing considerable volatility early in the session. The major averages all moved to the downside on the day, partly offsetting the strength seen in the previous session.

The Nasdaq slid 138.93 points or 0.5 percent to 26,402.42 and the S&P 500 fell 19.23 points or 0.3 percent to 7,711.76. The narrower Dow posted a more modest loss, edging down 9.45 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 53,559.99.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1 percent, the German DAX Index advanced by 0.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices edged lower Friday as the shift by the U.S. to pressure Iran economically rather than by force dampened the risk premium for crude oil. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery eased $0.13 or 0.16 percent at $83.40 per barrel.