Rally May Stall For Japan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market has tracked to the upside in five consecutive sessions, climbing more than 5,600 points or 8.9 percent in that span. Now at a fresh record closing high, the Nikkei 225 sits just above the 69,900-point plateau although investors are likely to lock in gains on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The Nikkei finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financials, weakness from the automobile producers and a mixed picture from the technology shares.

For the day, the index improved 497.75 points or 0.72 percent to finish at 69,902.25 after trading between 68,985.63 and 70,125.75.

Among the actives, Nissan Motor dropped 0.88 percent, while Mazda Motor tumbled 2.10 percent, Toyota Motor retreated 1.32 percent, Honda Motor contracted 1.63 percent, Softbank Group plunged 3.13 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial collected 1.36 percent, Mizuho Financial spiked 3.21 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial added 0.64 percent, Mitsubishi Electric dipped 0.15 percent, Sony Group rose 0.34 percent, Panasonic Holdings rallied 2.97 percent and Hitachi slumped 0.97 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened slightly higher on Wednesday and hugged the line before tumbling after the Federal Reserve's rate decision.

The Dow dropped 507.12 points or 0.98 percent to finish at 51,492.55, while the NASDAQ slumped 354.69 points or 1.34 percent to close at 26,021.66 and the S&P 500 sank 91.25 points or 1.21 percent to end at 7,420.10.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came after the Fed left interest rates unchanged as widely expected, but projections suggest that rates could be higher by end of the year.

The Fed noted that inflation remains elevated relative to the Fed's 2 percent goal, in part reflecting supply shocks that have driven price increases in certain sectors, including energy.

In economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing retail sales in the U.S. increased by much more than expected in the month of May.

Crude oil prices ticked higher on Wednesday as energy experts remain skeptical of an early restoration of normal oil trade in the gulf region despite the upcoming U.S.-Iran deal. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was up $0.45 or 0.59 percent at $76.50 per barrel.