Rebound Anticipated For Japan Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market on Tuesday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had jumped almost 2,250 points or 3 percent to a fresh record closing high. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 66,730-point plateau although it may bounce higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mildly positive on hopes for an end to hostilities in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The Nikkei finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the automobile producers, gains from the financial shares and a mixed picture from the technology stocks.

For the day, the index slumped 200.09 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 66,734.23 after trading between 65,551.13 and 66,748.06. Among the actives, Nissan Motor tumbled 2.61 percent, while Mazda Motor added 0.49 percent, Toyota Motor tanked 2.12 percent, Honda Motor skidded 1.07 percent, Softbank Group climbed 1.07 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial collected 0.76 percent, Mizuho Financial rallied 2.24 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial vaulted 1.54 percent, Mitsubishi Electric slumped 1.43 percent, Sony Group soared 3.59 percent, Hitachi sank 0.84 percent and Panasonic Holdings was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages were able to shake off early weakness and find modest gains on Tuesday, with all three hitting record closing highs for the third day in a row.

The Dow added 228.91 points or 0.45 percent to finish at 51,307.79, while the NASDAQ rose 7.09 points or 003 percent to close at 27,093.90 and the S&P 500 added 9.86 points or 0.13 percent to end at 7,609.82.

Stocks had benefitted from optimism for an end to the U.S.-Iran conflict in the past few sessions, but differing accounts from U.S. President Donald Trump and the Israelian Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dampened hopes. A rebound by the price of crude oil also limited the upside.

Crude oil prices jumped on Tuesday as the U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding has been delayed. Also, global energy watchdogs warn of accelerating crude oil inventory depletion. West Texas Intermediate crude for July was up $1.57 or 1.70 percent at $93.73 per barrel.

While uncertainty about the situation in the Middle East has kept some traders on the sidelines, optimism about the AI trade continues to generate positive sentiment on Wall Street.