Japanese Market Significantly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is significantly lower on Friday, snapping the five-session winning streak, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 falling below the 26,200 level, despite the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, as a stronger yen weighed on exporters, partially offset by gains in technology and financial stocks with traders digesting the softer than expected US inflation data. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is losing 293.18 points or 1.11 percent to 26,156.64, after touching hitting a low of 26,090.84 earlier. Japanese stocks closed slightly higher on Thursday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 1 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is plunging more than 7 percent after first-quarter profit declined and missed estimates. Among automakers, Honda is losing more than 1 percent and Toyota is declining almost 2 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest and Screen Holdings are advancing almost 3 percent each, while Tokyo Electron is gaining more than 3 percent.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are gaining almost 2 percent each, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is adding more than 2 percent.

Among major exporters, Canon is edging down 0.5 percent, Panasonic is losing 1.5 percent and Sony is declining more than 1 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric is edging up 0.2 percent. Among the other major losers, Nippon Sheet Glass is losing almost 4 percent, Toho is declining more than 3 percent and Mazda Motor is down almost 3 percent.

Conversely, Seven & I Holdings is gaining almost 5 percent and Fukuoka Financial Group is adding more than 4 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Trust and Concordia Financial Group are up almost 4 percent each. T&D Holdings is rising more than 3 percent, while Shizuoka Financial Group, Chiba Bank and Dai-ichi Life are advancing almost 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the 129 yen-range on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Thursday, extending the upward trend seen over the past several sessions. The major averages saw substantial volatility early in the session but climbed firmly into positive territory as the day progressed.

The major averages finished the day off their highs of the session but held on to gains. The Dow advanced 216.96 points or 0.6 percent to 34,189.97, the Nasdaq climbed 69.43 points or 0.6 percent to 11,001.10 and the S&P 500 rose 13.56 points or 0.3 percent to 3,983.17.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.9 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index both climbed by 0.7 percent.

Crude oil futures settled higher on Thursday, gaining for a sixth straight session on a weaker dollar and data showing a slowdown in U.S. inflation. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February added $0.98 or 1.3 percent at $78.39 a barrel.