Consolidation Expected For Japan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market has finished higher in two straight sessions, gaining almost 2,300 points or 4 percent in that span. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 55,025-point plateau although it may run out of steam on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on continuing concerns over the war in the Middle East and surging oil prices. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Nikkei finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the automobile producers and technology stocks, while the financials were soft.

For the day, the index jumped 776.98 points or 1.43 percent to finish at 55,025.37 after trading between 54,882.58 and 55,745.38. Among the actives, Nissan Motor skidded 1.13 percent, while Mazda Motor accelerated 2.63 percent, Toyota Motor climbed 1.07 percent, Softbank Group soared 7.05 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial slumped 1.36 percent, Mizuho Financial retreated 1.50 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial dropped 1.01 percent, Mitsubishi Electric rallied 1.51 percent, Sony Group vaulted 1.26 percent, Panasonic Holdings surged 5.85 percent, Hitachi sank 1.34 percent and Honda Motor was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages spent much of Wednesday's trade bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before ending mixed.

The Dow dropped 289.24 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 47,417.27, while the NASDAQ rose 19.03 points or 0.08 percent to end at 22,716.13 and the S&P 500 dipped 5.68 points or 0.08 percent to close at 6,775.80.

The recent volatility has largely been driven by big swings by the price of crude oil, which rebounded on Wednesday.

Crude oil is regained ground after the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said it has received reports of three vessels being struck by projectiles off Iran's coast, adding to worries about transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

Crude oil prices skyrocketed on Wednesday as the Middle East conflict fails to show any indication of calming down soon. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery was up $4.21 or 5.04 percent at $87.66 per barrel.

Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a report from the Labor Department showing consumer prices in the U.S. increased in line with estimates in February.