FX.co ★ Japan Stock Market May Turn Lower Again

The Japanese stock market experienced another upward movement on Monday, following a brief pause in a four-day winning streak that saw gains of nearly 1,200 points or 3.2 percent. Currently, the Nikkei 225 is positioned slightly above the 39,160 mark, but it could potentially see a reversal of these gains on Tuesday.

Globally, Asian markets are expected to show mixed performance due to weakness in technology stocks, alongside anticipation of significant U.S. inflation data due later this week. While European markets displayed mixed results, U.S. markets experienced declines, suggesting that Asian markets might find a middle ground.

In Monday's session, the Nikkei 225 saw modest gains, buoyed by strong performances from financial and automobile sectors, though technology stocks displayed mixed results. By the day's close, the index increased by 69.33 points, or 0.18 percent, settling at 39,160.50, with trading fluctuations between 38,972.78 and 39,332.55.

Notable movements among active stocks included Nissan Motor's slight decline of 0.03 percent, contrasted by Mazda Motor's increase of 1.80 percent. Toyota Motor added 0.63 percent, Honda Motor rose 1.05 percent, and SoftBank Group surged 1.99 percent. Other key players included Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, which went up 0.25 percent, Mizuho Financial gaining 0.26 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial rising 1.17 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric fell 1.65 percent. Sony Group rallied with a 1.97 percent gain, Hitachi dipped 0.20 percent, and Panasonic remained unchanged.

Wall Street provided a negative outlook, where major indices began mixed on Monday but quickly turned negative and remained so throughout the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 240.59 points, or 0.54 percent, to close at 44,401.93. Meanwhile, the NASDAQ fell by 123.08 points, or 0.62 percent, to end at 19,736.69, and the S&P 500 decreased by 37.42 points, or 0.61 percent, to finish at 6,052.85.

A notable factor contributing to the downturn was a 2.6 percent drop in Nvidia's stock, following news of a Chinese regulatory investigation into potential antimonopoly violations by the chipmaker. Additionally, anticipation of upcoming U.S. inflation data contributed to Wall Street's weakness.

Traders are also keeping a close watch on the Federal Reserve, which is widely expected to reduce interest rates by another 25 basis points next week; however, there remains uncertainty about future rate cuts in the coming year.

Oil prices saw an upward trend, influenced by geopolitical tensions and optimism regarding the possibility of the Chinese central bank easing its monetary policy to stimulate economic growth. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January settled at $68.37 per barrel, reflecting an increase of $1.17, or 1.74 percent.