Despite the largely positive global market signals, the Japanese stock market has experienced substantial losses, continuing the trend from the prior two sessions. The Nikkei 225 Index, though initially opening on a positive note, fell close to the 39,700 level after reaching an all-time high. The plunge in technology stocks subverted the gains brought about by better performing export and financial stocks.
The Nikkei 225 Index dipped by 377.25 points or 0.94 percent, settling at 39,713.53 from its peak at 40,472.11. Among the major players, SoftBank Group displayed a gain of nearly 2 percent. Simultaneously, Fast Retailing, operator of Uniqlo, witnessed a minor drop of 0.3 percent. The automotive industry faced losses with Toyota's stocks falling about 2 percent and Honda seeing over a 2 percent decline.
The tech sector saw significant losses with Advantest, Tokyo Electron, and Screen Holdings dropping by approximately 4, 3, and 4 percent respectively. However, in the banking sector, both Sumitomo Mitsui and Mizuho Financial stocks rose over 1 percent, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial also seeing a minor rise of 0.5 percent.
Major exporters such as Canon and Mitsubishi Electric found gains of more than 2 percent and close to 1 percent respectively, despite Panasonic's minor loss of 1 percent. Mazda Motor and Nissan Motor endured losses of more than 4 and almost 4 percent, while Mitsubishi Motors, Resonac Holdings, and Subaru saw nearly 3 percent drop each.
In contrast, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Sompo Holdings, DeNA, Resona Holdings, CyberAgent, and Rakuten Group made gains of more than 3 percent each. Minor gains of almost 3 percent were seen in Yaskawa Electric, MS&AD Insurance, Japan Post, and Orix.
The U.S. dollar exhibited a strong performance in the higher 148 yen-range on Thursday. Traditionally, global markets also made positive movements on Wednesday, while European markets made minor advances too. Crude oil prices saw an increase, with West Texas Intermediary Crude oil futures for April escalating to $79.13 a barrel, an increase of $0.98 or 1.25 percent.
