Renewed Consolidation Called For Japan Shares

(RTTNews) - The Japan stock market rebounded on Thursday, one day after snapping the four-day winning streak in which it had tallied more than 3,800 points or 7.2 percent. The Nikkei finished just above the 56,920-point plateau although it may head south again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft thanks to renewed tensions in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were mixed to lower and the Asian bourses are also expected to open under pressure.

The Nikkei finished sharply higher on Friday following mixed performances from the automobile producers, financial shares and technology companies.

For the day, the index rallied 1,028.79 points or 1.84 percent to finish at 56,924.11 after trading between 56,251.18 and 57,012.77. Among the actives, Nissan Motor dipped 0.14 percent, while Mazda Motor added 0.43 percent, Toyota Motor fell 0.36 percent, Honda Motor shed 0.51 percent, Softbank Group perked 0.08 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial eased 0.02 percent, Mizuho Financial collected 0.83 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial lost 0.29 percent, Mitsubishi Electric rallied 3.09 percent, Sony Group retreated 1.48 percent, Panasonic Holdings tanked 2.19 percent and Hitachi sank 0.68 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed on Friday and largely hugged the line throughout the trading day before ending little changed and on opposite sides.

The Dow dropped 269.23 points or 0.56 percent to finish at 47,916.57, while the NASDAQ gained 80.49 points or 0.35 percent to close at 22,902.89 and the S&P 500 slipped 7.77 points or 0.11 percent to end at 6,816.89.

For the week, the NASDAQ spiked 4.7 percent, the S&P rallied 3.6 percent and the Dow jumped 3.0 percent.

The lackluster performance by the broader markets came amid lingering about whether the fragile ceasefire in the Middle East will hold; peace negotiations over the weekend also failed to produce a result.

In economic news, the University of Michigan noted a significant deterioration in U.S. consumer sentiment in April. Also, the Labor Department showed consumer prices advanced by 0.9 percent in March, in line with estimates.

Crude oil prices slumped Friday despite persistent tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was down $1.15 or 1.18 percent at $96.72 per barrel.