Japanese Market Sharply Lower

(RTTNews) - The Japanese market is sharply lower on Thursday, reversing the gains in the previous two sessions, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is tumbling 2.8 percent to near the 53,700 level, with weakness across all sectors led by index heavyweights and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 1,527.64 points or 2.77 percent to 53,711.76, after hitting a low of 53,647.28 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply higher on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 4 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is declining more than 3 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is losing almost 2 percent and Honda is declining almost 3 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is tumbling almost 5 percent, Screen Holdings is declining almost 3 percent and Tokyo Electron is losing more than 2 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is down almost 1 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is losing more than 1 percent and Mizuho Financial is declining almost 2 percent.

Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is losing more than 2 percent, Sony is gaining more than 1 percent, Canon is edging down 0.3 percent and Panasonic is declining almost 2 percent.

Among other major losers, Tokyo Electric Power is tumbling more than 8 percent and Sumitomo Metal Mining is slipping more than 7 percent, while Resonac Holdings, Taiheiyo Cement and JGC Holdings are sliding more than 6 percent each. Dowa Holdings and Mitsui Kinzoku are declining almost 6 percent each, while Shimizu, Yokohama Rubber, JTEKT and Sumco are losing more than 5 percent each. NGK Insulators, Mitsubishi Chemical, Asahi Kasei and Mitsubishi Materials are falling almost 5 percent each.

Conversely, BayCurrent is surging more than 5 percent and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines is advancing almost 3 percent.

In economic news, the Bank of Japan will wrap up its monetary policy meeting on Thursday and then announce its decision on interest rates. The BoJ is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 0.75 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 159 yen-range on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day on Wednesday, largely offsetting the upward move seen over the two previous sessions. The major averages all showed significant moves to the downside, with the Dow and the S&P 500 dropping to nearly four-month lows.

The major averages ended the day just off their lows of the session. The Dow plunged 768.11 points or 1.6 percent to 46,225.15, the Nasdaq tumbled 327.11 points or 1.5 percent to 22,152.42 and the S&P 500 slumped 91.39 points or 1.4 percent to 6,624.70.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.9 percent and the German DAX Index slumped by 1.0 percent.

Crude oil prices ticked lower on Wednesday after Iraq said it has resumed oil production, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz by going through Turkey. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery eased $0.18 or 0.19 percent at $96.39 per barrel.