The Japanese stock market is down sharply on Thursday amid increased risk aversion following the stock market turmoil in China, while a stronger yen weighed on exporters' stocks.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is losing 427.04 points or 2.16 percent to 19,310.60, off a three-month low of 19,115.20 earlier.
Among the major exporters, Sony Corp. (SNE) is losing 0.5 percent, Panasonic is down more than 1 percent, Sharp is lower by 2 percent and Toshiba is declining almost 5 percent.
In the tech sector, Casio Computer is higher by 0.6 percent, while Kyocera is declining almost 2 percent and Fanuc is down almost 3 percent.
Among auto stocks, Toyota (TM) is declining more than 2 percent, Suzuki is losing more than 3 percent and Mazda is lower by almost 3 percent.
In the banking space, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (MTU) is declining more than 3 percent, Mizuho Financial is down more than 2 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is lower by almost 3 percent.
Among the other major decliners, GS Yuasa and Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings are losing more than 5 percent each, while Kobe Steel is down more than 4 percent.
On the economic front, the Cabinet Office said that core machine orders in
apan advanced 0.6 percent on month in May, worth 907.6 billion yen. The headline figure easily beat forecasts for a decline of 0.5 percent following the 3.8 percent increase in April.
On a yearly basis, core machine orders added 19.3 percent - also topping expectations for a gain of 16.7 percent following the 3.0 percent increase in the previous month.
The Bank of Japan said that the M2 money stock in Japan advanced 3.8 percent on year in June, worth 908.7 trillion yen. That missed expectations for an increase of 4.0 percent following the upwardly revised 4.1 percent gain in May.
The trade balance reflected a deficit of 47.3 billion yen - also beating forecasts for a shortfall of 283.8 billion yen following the 146.2 billion yen shortfall in the previous month.
The Bank of Japan said that overall bank lending in Japan was up 2.5 percent on year in June, coming in at 487.773 trillion yen. That was in line with expectations, and down from the 2.6 percent increase in May.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 120 yen range on Thursday, down from Wednesday's close in the upper 121 yen-range in Tokyo.
On Wall Street, stocks closed lower on Wednesday as Chinese stocks extended their recent steep decline and as traders also kept an eye on the latest developments regarding the Greek debt crisis. Some additional negative sentiment was generated by news that the New York Stock Exchange temporarily suspended trading in all symbols.
The Dow tumbled 261.49 points or 1.5 percent to 17,515.42, the Nasdaq plunged 87.70 points or 1.8 percent to 4,909.76 and the S&P 500 plummeted 34.65 points or 1.7 percent to 2,046.69.
Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on Wednesday on renewed hopes for a Greek debt deal. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.9 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index climbed 0.8 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.
U.S. crude oil ended lower for a fifth straight session Wednesday, on renewed fears of a supply glut after official data from the Energy Information Administration showed crude stockpiles in the U.S. to have increased more than expected last week.
Crude Oil futures for August delivery, the most actively traded contract, dropped $0.68 or 1.3 percent to settle at $51.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com