After a weak start and a subsequent rebound, the Japanese stock market faltered and is currently down marginally with investors treading cautiously following recent weak economic reports from the U.S.
Manufacturing, precision instruments, real estate, foods and pulp & paper stocks opened notably lower and are still mostly down in negative territory. Insurance, mining and pharmaceuticals stocks are finding some support.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which declined to 9,358.3 in early trades but moved past 9,400 subsequently, is now down 6 points at 9,374.3.
Shares of Tokyo Electric Power are up nearly a percent after the Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the government will support the company as liquidating it would cause huge problems.
Taiheiyo Cement is up more than 2 percent. Asahi Kasei, UBE, Mizuho Trust & Banking, Softbank, Denso, Toho Zinc, Toyota Motors and Mitsubishi Motor are also trading notably higher.
Canon Inc, the most prominent loser in the Nikkei index, is down 3.3 percent. Citizen Holdings is trading lower by about 2.3 percent.
Fujikura, Japan Tobacco, Sony Corp., Sumitomo Metal Industries, Shinsei Bank, Hino Motors, Sumitomo Metal Mining, Shionogi, Minebea and Sumco are trading notably lower.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the lower 80 yen level in early deals in Tokyo. The yen is currently trading at 80.22 to the U.S. dollar.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan are trading notably lower. Malaysia is down marginally, while New Zealand is trading flat. Markets across the region ended mostly lower on Monday.
On Wall Street, stocks drifted lower on Monday amid concerns about the outlook for the economy on the back of recent disappointing data.
The major averages closed firmly in negative territory and once again set new two-month closing lows. The Dow fell 61.3 points or 0.5 percent to 12,090, the Nasdaq dropped 30.2 points or 1.1 percent to 2,702.6 and the S&P 500 lost about 14 points or 1.1 percent, settling at 1,286.2.
Major European markets turned in a mixed performance on Monday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index edged up by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 index and the German DAX index lost 0.7 percent and 0.3 percent respectively.
Crude oil prices declined in choppy trading on Monday amid concerns about a fall in demand. Light, sweet crude for July delivery ended down US$1.21 at US$99.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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