The Japanese stock market has experienced a decline over two consecutive sessions, dropping more than 970 points or 2.5 percent in total. The Nikkei 225 is now positioned just above the 39,300-point mark but is anticipated to gain some support on Tuesday.
The outlook for Asian markets is positive, driven by expectations of a rise in technology stocks. European and U.S. markets have shown mostly upward trends, and Asian stock exchanges are expected to follow this trajectory.
On Monday, the Nikkei saw significant losses, primarily due to declines in technology stocks and automobile manufacturers, while the financial sector provided some stability. The index fell by 587.49 points or 1.47 percent, closing at 39,307.05, after fluctuating between 39,232.78 and 39,993.50 throughout the session.
In terms of individual performers, Nissan Motor dropped by 1.00 percent, Toyota Motor fell by 4.29 percent, whereas Honda Motor gained 2.83 percent. Softbank Group saw a modest increase of 0.53 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial rose by 0.62 percent. Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial added 0.31 percent and 0.48 percent, respectively. Mitsubishi Electric experienced a slight dip of 0.07 percent, Sony Group decreased by 2.02 percent, Panasonic Holdings declined 1.70 percent, Hitachi improved by 0.86 percent, and Mazda Motor remained stable.
Turning to Wall Street, the mood was mainly optimistic, as major indexes opened higher on Monday, maintaining their position for the most part, although the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed with a slight loss. The Dow fell 25.57 points or 0.06 percent, ending at 42,706.56. Meanwhile, the NASDAQ rose by 243.30 points or 1.24 percent to finish at 19,864.98, and the S&P 500 increased by 32.91 points or 0.55 percent, closing at 5,975.38.
The early uptick on Wall Street was fueled by continued optimism in technology stocks, following a report from Foxconn, a leading contract electronics manufacturer, that announced record fourth-quarter revenue due to robust demand for AI servers. Additionally, reports indicating that President-elect Donald Trump might reconsider his tariff plans spurred early buying interest.
Crude oil prices could not sustain early gains on Monday, breaking a five-day winning streak. Nonetheless, losses were restrained after Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, raised prices for Asian buyers for the first time in three months. West Texas Intermediate Crude for February delivery dipped by $0.46 or 0.5 percent, settling at $73.50 per barrel.
Domestically, Japan is set to release its December monetary base data later this morning. Expectations point to a year-on-year decline of 0.2 percent following a 0.1 percent decrease in November.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company -
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