Ahead of Monday's holiday for Labor Thanksgiving Day, the Japanese stock market had turned lower again on Friday, one day after ending the four-day losing streak in which it had plummeted more than 2,710 points or 5.6 percent. The Nikkei 225 now rests just above the 48,625-point plateau although it's likely to bounce higher again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with support expected from the technology and oil sectors. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead. The Nikkei finished sharply lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares and technology stocks, while the automobile producers offered support. For the day, the index plummeted 1,198.06 points or 2.40 percent to finish at 48,625.88 after trading between 48,490.03 and 49,459.59. Among the actives, Nissan Motor jumped 1.93 percent, while Mazda Motor added 0.72 percent, Toyota Motor accelerated 1.74 percent, Honda Motor rallied 1.62 percent, Softbank Group cratered 10.90 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial eased 0.06 percent, Mizuho Financial perked 0.08 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial collected 0.75 percent, Mitsubishi Electric stumbled 2.30 percent, Sony Group climbed 1.03 percent, Panasonic Holdings slumped 1.00 percent and Hitachi tanked 3.38 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is strong as the major averages opened mixed on Monday but quickly turned higher and accelerated throughout the day, ending near session highs.
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May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.