The Japanese stock market recorded a decline for the fifth consecutive session, accumulating a drop of over 1,050 points or 2.7 percent within this period. As of now, the Nikkei 225 index is positioned slightly above the 38,800 mark, although Friday may bring a pause to this downward trend.
Globally, the outlook for Asian markets remains uncertain due to apprehensions regarding interest rate prospects. While European markets experienced a decline, the U.S. markets exhibited a mixed and neutral performance, suggesting Asian markets might follow suit.
Thursday saw the Nikkei 225 close with a slight decline, impacted by losses in technology stocks and mixed results in the financial and automotive sectors.
Specifically, the index decreased by 268.13 points or 0.69 percent, closing at 38,813.58 after fluctuating between 38,355.52 and 38,913.07 during the day.
In terms of individual stock performances, Nissan Motor witnessed a significant surge of 6.51 percent, while Mazda Motor fell by 2.95 percent. Toyota Motor recorded a minor decrease of 0.09 percent, with Honda Motor declining by 1.97 percent. Softbank Group saw a sharp drop of 4.34 percent, whereas Mitsubishi UFJ Financial rose by 1.21 percent. Mizuho Financial increased by 2.06 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial grew by 2.32 percent, but Mitsubishi Electric fell by 1.23 percent. Meanwhile, Sony Group decreased by 0.94 percent, Panasonic Holdings slipped by 1.14 percent, and Hitachi dropped by 0.53 percent.
From the perspective of Wall Street, there is no clear direction, as the major indices opened higher on Thursday due to bargain hunting but lost momentum as the session progressed, closing with mixed and marginal changes.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased slightly by 15.37 points or 0.04 percent, concluding at 42,342.24. Conversely, the NASDAQ dropped 19.93 points or 0.10 percent to settle at 19,372.77, and the S&P 500 declined by 5.08 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 5,867.08.
The initial optimism on Wall Street stemmed from investors looking to purchase stocks at reduced prices following Wednesday's significant losses, during which the Dow reached its lowest closing level in over a month.
The sell-off on Wednesday was triggered by the Federal Reserve's anticipated decision to reduce interest rates by a quarter-point, while forecasting fewer rate cuts than expected next year.
Positive economic indicators provided support for the Fed's cautious approach to future rate reductions. According to the Commerce Department, the GDP exceeded expectations in Q3, and the Labor Department reported a significant decrease in first-time U.S. jobless claims last week.
On Thursday, crude oil futures faced downward pressure due to a stronger dollar, after the Federal Reserve indicated fewer interest rate cuts next year than previously expected. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for January ended lower by $0.67 or 0.95 percent, settling at $69.91 per barrel.
Domestically, Japan is set to release its consumer price figures for November this morning. In October, overall inflation increased by 0.4 percent month-over-month and 2.3 percent year-over-year, with core CPI also rising by an annual 2.3 percent.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company -
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