<div id="readability-page-1"><div> (RTTNews) - Ahead of Wednesday's holiday for Showa Day, the Japanese stock market had ended the two-day winning streak in which it had surged almost 1,400 points or 2.3 percent to a record closing high. The Nikkei now sits just beneath the 59,920-point plateau and it may take further damage on Thursday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on surging oil prices and uncertainty about the conflict in the Middle East. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference. The Nikkei finished sharply lower on Tuesday following losses from the technology stocks, gains from the automobile producers and a mixed picture from the financial sector. For the day, the index skidded 619.90 points or 1.02 percent to finish at 59,917.46 after trading between 59,701.84 and 60,634.66. Among the actives, Nissan Motor accelerated 3.28 percent, while Mazda Motor rallied 2.16 percent, Toyota Motor jumped 1.47 percent, Honda Motor perked 0.08 percent, Softbank Group plummeted 9.86 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial spiked 3.12 percent, Mizuho Financial surged 5.12 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial soared 4.52 percent, Mitsubishi Electric added 0.50 percent, Sony Group strengthened 1.44 percent, Panasonic Holdings slumped 1.35 percent and Hitachi plunged 5.77 percent. The lead from Wall Street is uninspired as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday and hugged the line for most of the day, finally ending mixed. The Dow dropped 280.12 points or 0.57 percent to finish at 48,861.81, while the NASDAQ perked 9.44 points or 0.04 percent to close at 24,673.24 and the S&amp;P 500 eased 2.85 points or 0.04 percent to end at 7,135.95. The lackluster performance on Wall Street came as traders were reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of earnings news after the close from big-name tech companies such as Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META) and Microsoft (MSFT). Traders also kept an eye on the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy announcement, with the central bank announcing its widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged in an unusually divided vote. Crude oil prices surged again on Wednesday as an end to the Middle East war still remains elusive, keeping the blockade on the Strait of Hormuz in place. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was up $6.79 or 6.79 percent at $106.72 per barrel. Closer to home, Japan is scheduled to release a raft of data today, including March figures for industrial production, retail sales, construction orders and housing starts, as well as April results for its consumer confidence index. In February, industrial production was down 2.0 percent on month and retail sales slipped an annual 0.2 percent. Construction orders surged 42.7 percent on year and housing starts sank an annual 4.9 percent. The household confidence index had a score of 33.3 in March. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. </div></div>

1369

1329

1321

1346

2525

1320

The Japanese stock market ended its two-day winning streak, with the Nikkei dropping 619.90 points (1.02%) to close at 59,917.46. This decline follows losses in technology stocks, despite gains in the automobile sector. Global market forecasts are weak due to rising oil prices and Middle East uncertainties. Wall Street's mixed performance added to the cautious sentiment, as traders await earnings reports from major tech companies. Japan is set to release key economic data today, including industrial production and retail sales figures.

nasdaq

Asset Management One Co., Ltd.

BlackRock, Inc.

Nomura Holdings, Inc.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.

Japan Agricultural Cooperatives Group

Daiwa Securities Group, Inc.

Pro Ultrshrt Yen

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

Nissan Motor

Mazda Motor Corp.

Mazda Motor

Toyota Motor Corp.

Toyota Motor

Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Honda Motor

SoftBank Group Corp.

SoftBank

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial

Mizuho Financial Group, Inc.

Mizuho Financial

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial

Mitsubishi Electric Corp.

Mitsubishi Electric

Sony Group Corporation

Sony

Panasonic Corporation

Panasonic Holdings Corporation

Hitachi,Ltd.

Hitachi

Dow Jones Industrial Average

Nasdaq

NASDAQ Composite Index

S&P 500

Alphabet

Alphabet - C

Amazon

Meta Platforms

Microsoft

Toyota

Japan Bourse May Extend Tuesday's Losses