TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, sinking almost 600 points or 1.7 percent along the way. The Nikkei 225 now rests just beneath the 38,680-point plateau and it may take further damage again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative, with retail and technology stocks likely to fall under pressure. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.
The Nikkei finished sharply lower on Thursday following losses among the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.
For the day, the index tumbled 486.57 points or 1.24 percent to finish at 38,678.04 after trading between 38,468.72 and 38,967.01.
Among the actives, Nissan Motor tanked 2.83 percent, while Mazda Motor retreated 1.58 percent, Toyota Motor stumbled 1.63 percent, Honda Motor slumped 1.37 percent, Softbank Group surrendered 2.08 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial tumbled 1.94 percent, Mizuho Financial declined 1.93 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial weakened 1.80 percent, Mitsubishi Electric eased 0.08 percent, Sony Group skidded 1.09 percent, Panasonic Holdings plunged 2.32 percent and Hitachi dropped 1.44 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and remained in the red throughout the session.
The Dow plummeted 450,94 points or 1.01 percent to finish at 44,176.65, while the NASDAQ stumbled 93.89 points or 0.47 percent to close at 19,962.36 and the S&P 500 sank 26.63 points or 0.43 percent to end at 6,117.52.
The early sell-off on Wall Street came amid a slump by shares of Walmart (WMT), which came under pressure after the company reported better than fiscal fourth quarter earnings but provided disappointing guidance for the current year.
Traders may also have been looking to cash in on the recent upticks by stocks, which lifted the S&P 500 to record highs despite ongoing tariff concerns and indications the Federal Reserve is likely to keep interest rates on hold for some time.
On the economic front, the Labor Department noted a modest increase by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. Also, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity continued to expand in February, although the index of activity in the sector pulled back sharply.
Oil futures settled higher on Thursday, as supply disruptions in Russia and drop in gasoline and distillate fuel stocks supported oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures closed higher by $32 or 0.44 percent at $72.57 a barrel.
Closer to home, Japan will release January figures for national consumer prices later this morning. In December, overall inflation was up 0.6 percent on month and 3.6 percent on year, while core CPI rose an annual 3.0 percent. Japan also will see February results for the manufacturing and services PMIs from Jibun Bank; in January, their scores were 48.7 and 53.0, respectively.
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