(RTTNews) – The Japanese stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, surrendering more than 900 points or 2.4 percent along the way. The Nikkei 225 now rests just above the 37,120-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak on concerns over the health of the world economy. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.
The Nikkei finished sharply lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.
For the day, the index tumbled 679.64 points or 1.80 percent to finish at 37,120.33 after trading between 36,864.93 and 37,359.95.
Among the actives, Nissan Motor dipped 0.25 percent, while Mazda Motor retreated 1.32 percent, Toyota Motor tanked 2.81 percent, Honda Motor surrendered 2.60 percent, Softbank Group skidded 1.00 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial tumbled 1.63 percent, Mizuho Financial plunged 2.53 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial stumbled 1.80 percent, Mitsubishi Electric cratered 2.39 percent, Sony Group lost 0.55 percent, Panasonic Holdings rallied 1.21 percent and Hitachi dropped 0.91 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is brutal as the major averages opened lower on Friday and only got worse as the day progressed, ending near session lows.
The Dow plummeted 715.80 points or 1.69 percent to end at 41,583.90, while the NASDAQ tumbled 481.01 points or 2.70 percent to close at 17.322.99 and the S&P 500 dropped 112.37 points or 1.97 percent to end at 5,580.94. For the week, the NASDAQ plunged 2.6 percent, while the S&P lost 1.5 percent and the Dow shed 1.0 percent.
The sell-off on Wall Street came amid concerns about the outlook for the economy following the latest data, including the Federal Reserve’s preferred readings on inflation.
While the Commerce Department report showed consumer prices increased in line with economist estimates, core consumer prices rose by slightly more than expected.
Stocks saw further downside after the University of Michigan released revised data showing consumer sentiment deteriorated more than estimated in March.
Oil prices fell Friday, but the most active futures contract still posted a weekly gain amid prospects of tighter supplies following the U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May settled at $69.36 a barrel, losing $0.56 or 0.8 percent. WTI crude futures gained 1.6 percent in the week.
Closer to home, Japan is scheduled to release a batch of data on Monday, including February figures for industrial production, retail sales, construction orders and housing starts.
Industrial production is expected to rise 1.9 percent on month after dipping 1.1 percent in January. Sales are seen higher by an annual 2.4 percent, easing from 2.4 percent in the previous month. Construction orders were up 12.2 percent on year in January and housing starts fell 4.6 percent.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
