TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market has finished lower in five straight sessions, declining more than 1,050 points or 2.7 percent in that span. The Nikkei 225 now rests just above the 38,800-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets remains murky on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat, and the Asian markets are expected to follow the latter lead.
The Nikkei 225 finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the technology stocks and mixed performances from the financial shares and automobile producers.
For the day, the index dropped 268.13 points or 0.69 percent to finish at 38,813.58 after trading between 38,355.52 and 38,913.07.
Among the actives, Nissan Motor surged 6.51 percent, while Mazda Motor stumbled 2.95 percent, Toyota Motor eased 0.09 percent, Honda Motor tumbled 1.97 percent, Softbank Group plunged 4.34 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial rallied 1.21 percent, Mizuho Financial spiked 2.06 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial soared 2.32 percent, Mitsubishi Electric slumped 1.23 percent, Sony Group dropped 0.94 percent, Panasonic Holdings skidded 1.14 percent and Hitachi lost 0.53 percent.
The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened higher Thursday on bargain hunting but faded as the day progressed, finally ending mixed and little changed.
The Dow rose 15.37 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 42,342.24, while the NASDAQ dipped 19.93 points or 0.10 percent to close at 19,372.77 and the S&P 500 eased 5.08 points or 0.09 percent to end at 5,867.08.
The initial strength on Wall Street came as traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels after Wednesday's steep losses, which saw the Dow tumble to its lowest closing level in over a month.
Wednesday's sell-off came after the Federal Reserve announced its widely expected decision to lower interest rates by a quarter-point but forecast rate cuts fewer than expected next year.
Upbeat economic data supported for the Fed's cautious approach to further rate cuts after the Commerce Department said GDP surged more than expected in Q3. Also, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. jobless benefits pulled back more than expected last week.
Crude oil futures were down on Thursday, weighed down by a stronger dollar after the Federal Reserve signaled fewer interest rate cuts next year than had been expected. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for January closed down $0.67 or 0.95 percent at $69.91 a barrel.
Closer to home, Japan will release November numbers for consumer prices later this morning. In October, overall inflation was up 0.4 percent on month and 2.3 percent on year, while core CPI also rose an annual 2.3 percent.
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