The Japanese market faltered after an early upmove on Thursday with investors pressing some sales amid lingering concerns about the financial situation in the eurozone. The yen's surge against the euro too appears to be prompting traders to indulge in some selling.
Automobile, electric power and precision instruments stocks started off on a weak note and are still mostly trading in negative territory. Shares from real estate, securities and financial sections are trading higher.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which rose to 8,597.5 after a flat start, is currently trading at 8,552.8, down 3.8 points from its previous close.
Japan Steel Works Ltd shares are down nearly 5 percent. Sumitomo Chemical is down 3.3 percent. Canon Inc., Tokyo Dome, Denso Corp, Terumo Corp, Tosoh, Ebara, Advantest Corp, Showa Shell KK and Tokyo Electron are trading lower by 2 to 3 percent.
Mazda Motor, Hino Motors, Nissan Motor, Toho Zinc, Mitsumi Electric, Pacific Metals, Kobe Steel and Sumitomo Metal Mining are also trading notably lower.
Meanwhile, Sharp Corp, Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma, Pioneer Corp, Shinsei Bank, Meidensha Corp, Sumitomo Realty & Development, Kawasaki Kisen and Nippon Light Metals are trading in positive territory, gaining 2 to 4 percent.
Fast Retailing, Chugai Pharmaceutical, Yahoo Japan, Panasonic Corp, Olympus Corp., Mitsui OSK Lines, Fuji Electric, Mitsubishi Motors, Chiba Bank and Central Japan Railway are among the other prominent gainers in the Nikkei index.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the mid-79 yen range in early deals in Tokyo. The yen is currently trading at 79.46 to the dollar. Against the euro, the yen strengthened to around 99 early on in the day.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan are trading higher, while Shanghai and Hong Kong are down marginally. Markets across the region ended weak on Wednesday.
On Wall Street, stocks recovered most of the lost ground on Wednesday after trading notably lower early on in the session. Despite a bigger than expected increase in U.S. new home sales, the market was quite weak in morning trades as worries about the financial situation in Europe rendered the mood a bit bearish.
The major averages eventually ended the session mixed, with the Dow stuck just below the unchanged line. While the Dow edged down 6.7 points or 0.1 percent to 12,496.1, the Nasdaq rose 11 points or 0.4 percent to 2,850.1 and the S&P 500 crept up 2.2 points or 0.2 percent to 1,318.9.
Major European market ended notably lower on Wednesday. While the German DAX index plummeted 2.3 percent, the French CAC 40 index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index went down by 2.6 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.
U.S. crude oil futures settled sharply lower at a seven-month low on Wednesday. Oil prices were hit hard by a strengthening dollar against most major currencies amid increased concerns over the eurozone crisis and speculations that Greece is preparing to quit the single currency bloc. Light Sweet Crude Oil futures for July delivery, dropped $1.95 or 2.1 percent to close at $89.90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.