Japan Stock Market Expected To Halt Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market has tracked lower in three straight sessions, dropping more than 1,270 points or 2.3 percent along the way. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 53,750-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The Nikkei finished slightly lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.

For the day, the index fell 68.46 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 53,751.15 after trading between 53,113.95 and 53,983.51. Among the actives, Nissan Motor tumbled 3.24 percent, while Mazda Motor perked 0.09 percent, Toyota Motor dropped 0.95 percent, Honda Motor tanked 1.72 percent, Softbank Group collected 0.87 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial sank 0.83 percent, Mizuho Financial shed 0.67 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial lost 0.55 percent, Mitsubishi Electric stumbled 1.89 percent, Sony Group retreated 2.14 percent, Panasonic Holdings contracted 1.53 percent and Hitachi slumped 1.09 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Monday and remained firmly in the green throughout the trading day, snapping a four-day losing streak.

The Dow jumped 387.94 points or 0.83 percent to finish at 46,946.41, while the NASDAQ rallied 268.82 points or 1.22 percent to end at 22,374.18 and the S&P 500 spiked 67.19 points or 1.01 percent to close at 6,699.38.

The rebound on Wall Street came amid a sharp pullback by the price of crude oil after President Donald Trump called on other countries to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.

Crude oil prices slipped Monday as the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz showed mild signs of easing. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery was down $5.38 or 5.45 percent at $93.33 per barrel.

The pullback by oil prices helped ease recent inflation concerns, although the Federal Reserve is still widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged when it meets in the coming days.

In U.S. economic news, the Federal Reserve said that industrial production in the U.S. increased slightly more than expected in February.

Closer to home, Japan will see January results for its tertiary industry activity index later today; in December, the reading was 8.40.