The Japanese stock market has experienced a downturn for six consecutive sessions, with a cumulative decline exceeding 1,160 points, or 3%. The Nikkei 225 is now positioned just above the 38,700-mark, and there is anticipation for market support as we look towards Monday.
The outlook for Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, influenced by improved projections for interest rates. While European markets faced declines, the U.S. markets demonstrated gains, setting a positive precedent for Asian markets to follow.
On Friday, the Nikkei 225 recorded a modest dip, influenced by losses in financial shares, alongside mixed results in the technology and automobile sectors. The index fell by 111.70 points, translating to a 0.29% decrease, closing at the day's low of 38,701.90, after reaching an earlier high of 39,039.68.
In terms of individual market players, Nissan Motor saw a decline of 0.40%, whereas Mazda Motor posted a rise of 0.22%. Toyota Motor experienced a robust increase of 1.74%, and Honda Motor showed an improvement of 0.78%. On the contrary, Softbank Group took a significant hit, dropping by 2.94%. Financial entities like Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Mizuho Financial, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial experienced serious setbacks, dropping by 3.35%, 2.36%, and 2.48%, respectively. Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Electric saw a slight decrease of 0.31%, whereas Sony Group increased by 0.74%, Panasonic Holdings rallied by 1.31%, and Hitachi saw a notable decline of 2.03%.
Turning to Wall Street, a positive trend was seen as major indices, despite opening lower on Friday, rebounded into positive territory and maintained momentum throughout the session.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared by 498.06 points, a 1.18% increase, settling at 42,840.26. Meanwhile, the NASDAQ rose by 199.80 points, or 1.03%, concluding at 19,572.60, and the S&P 500 advanced by 63.77 points, or 1.09%, ending the day at 5,930.85.
Over the week, however, the Dow experienced a decline of 2.3%, the S&P 500 dropped by 2.0%, and the NASDAQ decreased by 1.8%.
The rally on Wall Street was spurred by the Commerce Department's report on personal consumption expenditures (PCE), which indicated slower-than-expected growth. As the PCE is a key indicator for the Federal Reserve regarding consumer price inflation, the slower growth figures encouraged investors to buy stocks at lower prices following mid-week declines.
In the oil market, futures rose on Friday as the dollar retreated from two-year highs after the soft PCE reading alleviated concerns about imminent interest rate cuts. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures increased slightly by $0.08, or about 0.1%, to $69.46 per barrel. Despite the gain, oil futures decreased by 2.5% over the week.
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