Losses May Accelerate For Japan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Japan stock market on Thursday wrote a finish to the three-day winning streak in which it had surged almost 3,800 points or 6.8 percent to a record closing high. The Nikkei 225 now sits just beneath the 57,640-point plateau and it may take further damage on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on AI concerns and ahead of key U.S. inflation data. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The Nikkei 225 finished slightly lower on Thursday following losses from the automobile producers, gains from the financials and a mixed picture from the technology stocks.

For the day, the index dipped 10.70 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 57,639.84 after trading between 57,554.49 and 58,015.08. Among the actives, Nissan Motor added 0.46 percent, while Mazda Motor stumbled 3.13 percent, Toyota Motor fell 0.24 percent, Honda Motor tanked 3.50 percent, Softbank Group rallied 2.38 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial jumped 1.68 percent, Mizuho Financial collected 0.63 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial climbed 1.14 percent, Mitsubishi Electric perked 0.12 percent, Sony Group vaulted 1.26 percent, Panasonic Holdings spiked 1.47 percent and Hitachi slumped 1.33 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened slightly higher on Thursday but quickly headed south and trended lower as the day progressed, ending at session lows.

The Dow stumbled 669.42 points or 1.34 percent to finish at 49,451.98, while the NASDAQ plunged 469.32 points or 2.03 percent to close at 22,597.15 and the S&P 500 dropped 108.71 points or 1.57 percent to end at 6,832.76.

The sell-off on Wall Street was partly attributed to concerns about the impact of the artificial intelligence buildout on industries other than the tech sector, such as financial, transportation and logistics and commercial real estate companies.

In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits dipped less than expected last week. Also, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales pulled back much more than expected in January.

The focus now shifts to the Labor Department's report on consumer price inflation that is due to be released before the start of trading on Friday.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Thursday after the demand forecast by the International Energy Agency for 2026 projected an overwhelming supply glut. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was down $1.97 or 3.05 percent at $62.66 per barrel.