Rally May Stall For Japan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market has tracked higher in three straight sessions, surging more than 3,200 points or 6.2 percent to a fresh record closing high. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 54,340-point plateau but now investors may lock in gains on Thursday.

The global forecast for the largely overbought Asian markets is negative thanks to geopolitical concerns, with tech shares likely to lead the way lower. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Nikkei finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.

For the day, the index jumped 792.07 points or 1.48 percent to finish at 54,341.23 after trading between 53,792.68 and 54,487.32. Among the actives, Nissan Motor accelerated 2.53 percent, while Mazda Motor climbed 1.21 percent, Toyota Motor shed 0.52 percent, Honda Motor jumped 1.71 percent, Softbank Group plunged 4.18 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial spiked 3.50 percent, Mizuho Financial rallied 3.02 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial collected 2.59 percent, Mitsubishi Electric vaulted 2.20 percent, Sony Group added 0.34 percent, Panasonic Holdings expanded 1.23 percent and Hitachi gained 1.28 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened in the red on Wednesday and remained under water throughout the session.

The Dow slumped 42.36 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 49,149.63, while the NASDAQ stumbled 238.12 points or 1.00 percent to end at 23,471.12 and the S&P 500 sank 37.14 points or 0.53 percent to close at 6,926.60.

The weakness on Wall Street may partly have reflected growing concerns about rising geopolitical tensions around the world.

President Donald Trump's threats to take control of Greenland have made headlines recently, while traders are also keeping an eye on political unrest in Iran and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said retail sales in the U.S. increased more than expected in November. Also, the Labor Department noted a modest increase by U.S. producer prices in November.

Crude oil prices posted sharp gains Wednesday as the probability of U.S. intervention to end the crisis in Iran raises supply-related concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was up $0.76 or 1.24 percent at $61.91 per barrel.

Closer to home, Japan will release December figures for producer prices this morning, with forecast suggesting an increase of 0.1 percent on month and 2.4 percent on year. That's down from 0.3 percent on month and 2.7 percent on year in November.