Japanese Market Significantly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is significantly lower on Friday, extending the losses in the previous three sessions, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 falling below the 32,400 level, following the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight, as traders reacted to downbeat domestic data with weakness seen across most sectors, led by exporters and technology stocks.

Traders also await the Bank of Japan's decision on interest rates after the BoJ wraps up its monetary policy meeting later in the day. The BoJ is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is losing 228.40 points or 0.70 percent to 32,342.63, after hitting a low of 32,154.53 earlier. Japanese stocks closed sharply lower on Thursday.

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

In the tech space, Advantest is losing more than 1 percent, Screen Holdings is edging up 0.1 percent and Tokyo Electron is declining almost 2 percent.

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

Among major exporters, Sony is losing more than 1 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is down almost 1 percent, while Canon and Panasonic are edging down 0.5 percent each. Among other major losers, Z Holdings is losing more than 4 percent, while Nippon Sheet Glass and Tokyo Electric Power are declining more than 3 percent each. Kubota, Shiseido and Aeon are down almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, there are no other major gainers.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 147 yen-range on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day on Thursday, extending the sell-off seen late in the previous session. The major averages all posted steep losses on the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq plunging to its lowest closing level in over three months.

The major averages saw further downside going into the close, ending the day just off their lows of the session. The Nasdaq plummeted 245.14 points or 1.8 percent to 13,223.98, the S&P 500 dove 72.20 points or 1.6 percent to 4,330.00 and the Dow tumbled 370.46 points or 1.1 percent to 34,070.42.

The major European markets also saw significant weakness on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index plunged by 1.6 percent, the German DAX Index tumbled by 1.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.7 percent.

Crude oil prices recovered from early weakness on Thursday amid concerns about tight supplies after Russia imposed a ban on fuel exports. However, the contract failed to hold gains and ended slightly down. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November settled at $89.63 a barrel, down $0.03, despite rallying to $90.98 from a low of $88.37 a barrel.