TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market on Friday snapped the three-day winning streak in which it had picked up nearly 1,250 points or 3 percent. The Nikkei 225 now rests just beneath the 39,900-point plateau although it's expected to bounce higher again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with support expected from the technology and oil stocks, in particular. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.
The Nikkei finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.
For the day, the index tumbled 386.66 points or 0.96 percent to finish at 39,894.54 after trading between 39,864.46 and 40,325.78.
Among the actives, Nissan Motor plummeted 5.73 percent, while Mazda Motor shed 0.60 percent, Toyota Motor retreated 1.32 percent, Honda Motor rose 0.26 percent, Softbank Group sank 0.75 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial collected 0.74 percent, Mizuho Financial lost 0.51 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial eased 0.08 percent, Mitsubishi Electric declined 0.56 percent, Sony Group tumbled 1.40 percent, Panasonic Holdings perked 0.06 percent and Hitachi slumped 1.67 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Friday and remained in the green throughout the day, ending near session highs.
The Dow jumped 339.83 points or 0.80 percent to finish at 42,732.13, while the NASDAQ rallied 340.88 points or 1.77 percent to close at 19,621.68 and the S&P 500 climbed 73.92 points or 1.26 percent to end at 5,942.47.
For the holiday-interrupted week, the Dow slid 0.6 percent, while the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 both fell 0.5 percent.
The strength on Wall Street came as traders looked to pick up stocks at relatively reduced levels following recent weakness. Some traders also remained away from their desks following the New Year's Day holiday on Wednesday.
In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management said manufacturing activity contracted at a slower rate in December.
Oil prices climbed higher Friday amid optimism for the outlook for demand on recent data showing a drop in U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February closed higher by $0.83 or 1.13 percent at $73.96 a barrel.
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