Steady Start Called For Japan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Monday's market holiday for Marine day, the Japanese stock market had moved lower in two straight sessions, plummeting more than 4,600 points or 7 percent along the way. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 64,140-point plateau although it may find traction on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the major averages is soft on concerns over the outlook for interest rates and on the continuing conflict in the Middle East. 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 lower on Friday with damage across the board, especially among the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.

For the day, the index cratered 2,694.38 points or 4.03 percent to finish at 64,141.12 after trading between 62,704.60 and 66,441.77.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened higher on Monday but gradually sank into the red as the day progressed, ending at session lows.

The Dow tumbled 307.16 points or 0.59 percent to finish at 51,839.26, while the NASDAQ dipped 12.17 points or 0.05 percent to close at 25,508.07 and the S&P 500 eased 14.41 points or 0.19 percent to end at 7,443.28.

The early strength on Wall Street came as traders looked up to pick up stocks at relatively reduced levels following the notable pullback seen over the two previous sessions.

Buying interest waned over the course of the session, however, as concerns the escalating conflict between the U.S. and Iran led to a surge by treasury yields and worries about the outlook for interest rates.

In U.S. economic news, the Conference Board released a report showing a modest decline by its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators in June.

Crude oil prices edged higher on Monday as the U.S. and Iran continue to attack each other even as both sides appear ready to renew diplomatic efforts to halt the conflict. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was up $0.39 or 0.47 percent at $82.88 per barrel.