The Japanese market opened lower as investors pressed some sales in early trades after four successive days of gains. The yen's strength against the U.S. dollar too contributed to the mild sell-off.
However, with a section of investors picking up stocks at lower levels, the market briefly rebounded into positive territory and is currently down just marginally below the unchanged line.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which rallied to 9,311 from a low of 9,223.6, is currently down 21.5 points or 0.23% at 9,279.8.
Electric power, oil, manufacturing and insurance stocks are mostly down in negative territory. Steel, non-ferrous metals and bank stocks are trading firm, while real estate, retail and automobile stocks are trading mixed.
Bank stocks Shinsei Bank, Bank of Yokohama, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Shizuoka Bank, Chuo Mitsui Trust, Sumitomo Trust & Banking and Mizuho Financial are trading firm.
Nippon Sheet Glass, JFE Holdings Inc., Nippon Steel, Mitsubishi Chemicals, Mitsubishi Rayon, Fuji Electric, Kobe Steel, Nippon Light Metals, Citizen Holdings and Nisshin Steel are up 2%-4.5%.
Clarion Co. shares are down as much as 7.5%. Sumco Corp., Showa Denko KK, Mitsubishi Paper, Fast Retailing, J Front Retailing, Bridgestone Corp. and GS Yuasa are down with notable losses. On the economic front, Japan's foreign exchange reserves totaled 1.07 trillion dollars at the end of August, up 6.63 billion dollars from a month earlier, according to a report from the Finance Ministry. This marks the third straight month of increases and the country's second-highest foreign reserves on record.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded at the lower 84 yen level in early deals in Tokyo. The yen is currently trading at 84.21 to the U.S. dollar.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and South Korea are trading weak, while Australia, Shanghai and New Zealand are up in positive territory. Markets across the region closed higher on Monday as concerns about global economic recovery eased considerably on the back of a better-than-expected jobs report in the U.S. for August.
Major European markets ended higher on Monday amid optimism about a global recovery. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index gained 0.2%, while the German DAX index and the French CAC 40 index both advanced by about 0.33%. The U.S. market was closed on Monday on account of Labor Day holiday.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.