More Pain Predicted For Japan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market has tracked lower in two straight sessions, dropping more than 1,200 points or 2.2 percent along the way. The Nikkei 225 now sits just beneath the 53,820-point plateau and it may take further damage again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on continuing concerns over the war in the Middle East and the resulting surge in oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow to the downside.

The Nikkei finished sharply lower on Friday following losses from the automobile producers, financial shares and technology stocks.

For the day, the index slumped 633.35 points or 1.16 percent to finish at 53,819.61 after trading between 53,286.69 and 54,065.31. Among the actives, Nissan Motor tanked 4.40 percent, while Mazda Motor tumbled 3.13 percent, Toyota Motor surrendered 2.80 percent, Honda Motor plunged 5.55 percent, Softbank Group cratered 4.54 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial perked 0.08 percent, Mizuho Financial sank 0.82 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial dropped 0.89 percent, Mitsubishi Electric slumped 1.21 percent, Sony Group eased 0.03 percent, Panasonic Holdings dipped 0.06 percent and Hitachi stumbled 1.48 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened higher on Friday but turned lower as the day progressed, slipping into the red and finishing at session lows.

The Dow dropped 119.43 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 46,558.47, while the NASDAQ tumbled 206.64 points or 0.93 percent to close at 22,105.36 and the S&P 500 sank 40.43 points or 0.61 percent to end at 6,632.19. For the week, the Dow plunged 2.0 percent, the S&P dropped 1.6 percent and the NASDAQ slumped 1.3 percent.

The pullback seen over the course of the session came as trading continued to be largely driven by reaction to crude oil prices.

Stocks initially benefited from a pullback by the price of crude oil, with crude for April delivery plunging by as much as 3.9 percent after skyrocketing over the course of the two previous sessions.

Crude oil prices again showed a substantial move to the upside on Friday as uncertainty prevails about the timeline for ending the war. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery was up $3.35 or 3.50 percent at $98.08 per barrel.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said the annual rate of consumer price growth unexpectedly slowed in January. A separate report from the Commerce Department showed U.S. economic growth slowed much more than estimated in the fourth quarter of 2025.