FX.co ★ Japanese Market Modestly Lower

The Japanese stock market experienced a modest decline on Monday, reversing the gains recorded in the previous session. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is decreasing, though it remains comfortably above the 39,400 mark, despite generally positive signals from Wall Street on Friday. This downward trend is largely driven by weakness in major sectors, notably financial and technology stocks.

Currently, the Nikkei 225 Index has fallen by 137.39 points, or 0.35%, standing at 39,362.98, after earlier reaching a low of 39,316.21. On Friday, Japanese shares ended on a slightly positive note.

Among the prominent market players, SoftBank Group has seen a gain exceeding 1%, while Fast Retailing, the operator of Uniqlo, has experienced a slight decline of 0.4%. In the automotive industry, Honda is down by over 1%, with Toyota remaining stable.

Within the technology sector, Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron are both facing decreases in excess of 1%, whereas Advantest is showing a slight increase of 0.5%.

In banking, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, Mizuho Financial, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are each experiencing losses of nearly 1%.

Major exporters are predominantly seeing positive performance. Panasonic has risen by more than 4% and Sony by over 6%, while Canon and Mitsubishi Electric have slightly declined between 0.1 to 0.2%.

Significant losses are noted for Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Socionext, with declines exceeding 5% each. Sumco, Nissan Motor, and Kubota are also down by nearly 5%, Secom by more than 4%, and Hitachi Construction Machinery and Shiseido by close to 4%. Mitsui Fudosan, Ajinomoto, Ricoh, Olympus, Taisei, Mitsubishi Materials, and Daikin Industries have each dropped by over 3%.

On the other hand, Furukawa Electric has surged nearly 15%, DeNA by approximately 14%, Fujikura by more than 7%, and Suzuki Motor by over 6%. Meanwhile, Sumitomo Electric Industries and Nissui have both advanced by over 3%, with Terumo up almost 3%.

In currency exchanges, the U.S. dollar is trading within the lower range of 153 yen.

Turning to Wall Street, Friday's trading session was primarily positive, continuing the significant rally of recent days. Each major index registered new record closing highs.

Though there was some retreat from peak levels as the session ended, the indices remained in positive figures. The Dow advanced by 259.65 points, or 0.6%, to 43,988.99. The Nasdaq edged up by 17.32 points, or 0.1%, to 19,286.78, and the S&P 500 increased by 22.44 points, or 0.4%, to 5,995.54.

In contrast, major European markets recorded declines. The French CAC 40 Index dropped by 1.2%, while the UK's FTSE 100 Index and Germany's DAX Index both fell by 0.8%.

Crude oil prices experienced a sharp decline on Friday, driven by concerns over demand following reports of reduced oil imports by China and disappointment over the scale of China's new stimulus efforts. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for December fell by $1.98, or 2.7%, to $70.38 a barrel, although the contract managed a 1% gain over the week.