After opening notably lower on Friday due to profit taking, the Japanese market pared some losses subsequently with the yen's slight decline triggering some buying at lower levels.
However, with several front line stocks reeling under a fresh bout of selling pressure on the back of a disappointing report on core machinery orders, the market is back in the red again.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which rebounded into positive territory after tumbling to 14,902 in early trades, is currently down 40.5 points or 0.3 percent at 14,996.8.
Nippon Sheet Glass Co. shares are down nearly 10 percent after the company forecast a wider-than-expected loss.
Tokyo Electron, Pioneer Corp., Taiyo Yuden, J Front Retailing and Advantest Corp. (ATE) are trading lower by 3 to 4 percent.
Sharp Corp. is down nearly 3 percent. Sony Corp. (SNE), Fuji Electric, Isuzu Motors, Panasonic Corp. (PC), Asahi Group Holdings, Chiba Bank, Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Casio Computer and Mazda Motor are all down 1.2 to 2.2 percent.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financail Group, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (MTU), Nissan Motor, Softbank Corp., Suzuki Motor and JFE Holdings are also trading notably lower.
Among the gainers in the Nikkei index, Heiwa Real Estate is up 7.5 percent, Chiyoda Corp. is trading higher by 5.7 percent, Tokyo Tatemono is adding 5.5 percent and Taiheiyo Cement is up with a gain of 5.3 percent.
Sumitomo Chemicals, Tokyu Land, Sumitomo Osaka Cement, MS&AD Insurance, Unitika, Toyo Seikan Group Holdings, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Mitsui OSK Lines, Sony Financial Holdings, Sumitomo Realty & Development, Tokyo Electric Power, West Japan Railway and Yahoo Japan are all trading higher by 2 to 4 percent.
On the economic front, core machine orders in Japan climbed a seasonally adjusted 14.2 percent on month in March, the Cabinet Office said on Friday. That shattered forecasts for an increase of 3.5 percent following the downwardly revised 4.2 percent increase in February (originally 7.5 percent).
On a yearly basis, core machine orders added 2.4 percent - also beating expectations for a decline of 4.9 percent following the 11.3 percent contraction in the previous month.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded slightly above 102 yen in early deals in Tokyo. The yen is currently trading at 102.31 to the U.S. dollar.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia, Shanghai, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan are trading higher, while New Zealand and Singapore are trading weak. Markets in Hong Kong and South Korea are closed for Buddha's Birthday.
On Wall Street, stocks ended lower on Thursday with traders reacting to a disappointing batch of U.S. economic data.
The Dow dipped 42.5 points or 0.3 percent to 15,233.2, the Nasdaq edged down 6.4 points or 0.2 percent to 3,465.2 and the S&P 500 declined 8.3 points or 0.5 percent to 1,650.5.
Major European markets ended mixed on Thursday. The German DAX index up by 0.1 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index and the French CAC 40 index both dipped by 0.1 percent.
U.S. crude oil ended higher for a second straight day on Thursday, after the dollar dropped against a basket of major currencies following a slew of weak macroeconomic data out of the U.S.
Crude for June delivery ended up $0.86 or 0.9 percent at $95.16 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after hitting a low of $93.23 a barrel during the session.
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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.