Losing Streak May Continue For Japan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Japan stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, sinking almost 950 points or 1.4 percent along the way. The Nikkei now sits just above the 62,690-point plateau and it may take further damage again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on rising oil prices and ahead of this week's U.S. rate decision. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are likely to open in similar fashion.

The Nikkei finished modestly lower on Friday as losses from the technology, semiconductor, paper and finance sectors were countered by support from the retail and consumer companies.

For the day, the index dropped 214.64 points or 0.34 percent to finish at 62,693.16 after trading between 61,462.61 and 62,786.89.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Friday and mostly stayed under water, finishing near session lows.

The Dow tumbled 652.84 points or 1.23 percent to finish at 52,215.16, while the NASDAQ sank 53.56 points or 0.21 percent to close at 25,955.34 and the S&P 500 lost 39.75 points or 0.52 percent to end at 7,623.68.

For the week, the Dow rose 0.4 percent, the NASDAQ shed 0.7 percent and the S&P fell 0.5 percent.

Lingering concerns about the artificial intelligence trade contributed to the weakness on Wall Street along with a continued increase in the price of crude oil.

Crude oil prices spiked on Friday on rising fears of fresh U.S.-Iran conflict, as well as the ongoing Houthi-Saudi Arabia violence. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery was up $3.54 or 3.56 percent at $103.01 per barrel.

However, traders were reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of several key events this week, including the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting. The Fed is scheduled to announce its latest monetary policy decision on Wednesday and leave rates unchanged.

Closer to home, Japan will see August results for its leading and coincident indexes later today. The leading index is expected to add 0.4 percent on month, slowing from 1.5 percent in July. The coincident is tipped to fall 1.9 percent after rising 1.7 percent in the previous month.