TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Reversing the gains in the previous session, the Japanese market is sharply lower on Friday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is tumbling 2.6 percent to well below the 37,300 level, with weakness across most sectors led by index heavyweights, exporters and technology stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 996.55 points or 2.60 percent to 37,259.62, after hitting a low of 37,164.61 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly higher on Thursday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 5 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is down more than1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is losing more than 2 percent and Honda is down almost 2 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is plunging almost 9 percent, Tokyo Electron is tumbling more than 5 percent and Screen Holdings is declining almost 6 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are losing almost 2 percent each, while Mizuho Financial is declining more than 2 percent.
Among the major exporters, Sony and Mitsubishi Electric are losing almost 3 percent each, while Panasonic is down almost 2 percent and Canon is declining more than 1 percent.
Among other major losers, Disco is plummeting more than 11 percent and Fujikura is plunging more than 9 percent, while Lasertec and Furukawa Electric are tumbling more than 6 percent each. Socionext, Hitachi and Sumco are declining more than 5 percent each, while TDK, Recruit Holdings and Renesas Electronics are losing more than 4 percent each. Nomura Research Instituteis down almost 4 percent.
Conversely, there are no other major gainers.
In economic news, Industrial output in Japan dropped a seasonally adjusted 1.1 percent on month in January, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry or METI, said on Friday. That was shy of expectations for a decline of 1.0 percent following the 0.2 percent loss in December. On a yearly basis, industrial production was up 2.6 percent.
The METI also said that the value of retail sales in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent on month in January, coming in at 13.623 billion yen. That was in line with expectations following the 0.8 percent decline in December. On a yearly basis, sales were up 3.9 percent - again matching forecasts and up from 3.5 percent in the previous month.
Meanwhile, overall inflation in the Tokyo region was up 2.9 percent on year in February, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said - easing from 3.4 percent in January. Tokyo's core CPI was up an annual 2.2 percent, moderating from 2.5 percent in the previous month.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 149 yen-range on Friday.
On Wall Street, stocks once again failed to sustain an early upward move and came under pressure over the course of the trading day on Thursday. Unlike the previous session, however, the major averages extended the pullback as the day progressed, closing sharply lower.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq posted a particularly steep loss, plunging 530.84 points or 2.8 percent to a nearly four-month closing low of 18,544.41. The S&P 500 also slumped 94.49 points or 1.6 percent to a one-month closing low of 5,861.57, while the narrower Dow fell 193.62 points or 0.5 percent to a one-month closing low of 43,239.50.
The major European markets also showed strong moves to the downside on the day. The German DAX Index slumped by 1.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.5 percent, although the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index bucked the downtrend and increased by 0.3 percent.
Crude oil prices climbed higher on Thursday as the U.S. decision to revoke Chevron Corporation's license to operate in Venezuela raised supply concerns. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April closed higher by $1.73 or 2.52 percent at $70.35 a barrel.
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