Japanese Market Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is modestly lower on Wednesday, giving up the slight gains in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling well below the 39,500 level, as traders reacted to the latest business activity data with weakness in some index heavyweights and financial stocks partially offset by gains in technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 126.58 or 0.32 percent at 39,467.81, after hitting a low of 39,263.81 earlier. Japanese stocks ended slightly higher on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging up 0.5 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing almost 1 percent, while Toyota is advancing almost 2 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 1 percent, Tokyo Electron is adding 1.5 percent and Screen Holdings is advancing more than 3 percent.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial is losing almost 1 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are edging down 0.2 to 0.5 percent each.

Among the major exporters, Canon is gaining almost 1 percent and Sony is edging up 0.1 percent, while Panasonic is losing more than 1 percent and Mitsubishi Electric edging down 0.1 percent.

Among other major losers, Mitsubishi Motors is plunging almost 8 percent, Sumitomo Chemical is losing almost 4 percent and Kansai Electric Power is declining more than 3 percent, while Sumitomo Pharma and Isuzu Motors are down almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Nidec is surging more than 7 percent and Chugai Pharmaceutical is gaining more than 3 percent.

In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Japan slipped into contraction territory in July, the latest reading from Jibun Bank revealed on Wednesday with a manufacturing PMI score of 49.2. That's down from 50.0, and it falls beneath that mark that separates expansion from contraction. The survey also showed that the services PMI improved to 53.9 from 49.4 in June, and the composite index likewise improved to 52.6 from 49.7 a month earlier.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 155 yen-range on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Tuesday, with the major averages bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line following the strong upward move seen in the previous session.

The major averages eventually ended the day modestly lower. The Dow slipped 57.35 points or 0.1 percent to 40,358.09, the Nasdaq edged down 10.22 points or 0.1 percent to 17,997.35 and the S&P 500 dipped 8.67 points or 0.2 percent to 5,555.74.

Meanwhile, the major European markets ended the day mixed. While the German DAX Index advanced by 0.8 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.

Crude oil prices fell to near seven-week lows on Tuesday as investors brace for a likely drop in demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended down $1.44 or 1.83 percent at $76.96 a barrel, the lowest settlement since June 7.