Japan Shares Due For Support On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market has tracked lower in four straight sessions, sinking more than 2,675 points or 5.1 percent along the way. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 51,050-point plateau although it's expected to stop the bleeding on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism for an end to hostilities in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The Nikkei finished sharply lower again on Tuesday following losses from the financial shares, technology stocks and automobile producers.

For the day, the index retreated 822.13 points or 1.58 percent to finish at 51,063.72 after trading between 50,558.91 and 52,169.01. Among the actives, Nissan Motor sank 0.77 percent, while Mazda Motor eased 0.19 percent, Toyota Motor tumbled 1.92 percent, Honda Motor skidded 1.02 percent, Softbank Group cratered 3.71 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial dropped 0.80 percent, Mizuho Financial shed 0.78 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial slumped 0.93 percent, Mitsubishi Electric declined 1.07 percent, Sony Group added 0.66 percent, Panasonic Holdings fell 0.56 percent and Hitachi retreated 1.52 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and continued to accelerate throughout the day, ending at session highs.

The Dow surged 1,125.37 points or 2.49 percent to finish at 46,341.51, while the NASDAQ rallied 795.99 points or 3.83 percent to end at 21,590.63 and the S&P 500 jumped 184.80 points or 2.91 percent to close at 6,528.52.

Despite the rally on the day, the major averages all posted steep losses for the month of March. The Dow plummeted 5.4 percent, the S&P 500 plunged 5.1 percent and the NASDAQ tumbled 4.8 percent.

The rally on Wall Street followed reports that U.S. President Donald Trump is looking to end the war in the Middle East even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed.

Bargain hunting also contributed to the strength on Wall Street, with the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 bouncing off their lowest closing levels in almost eight months.

Crude oil plummeted Tuesday on reports that Trump was willing to push Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz through diplomatic efforts. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was down $1.28 or 1.24 percent at $101.60 per barrel.

Closer to home, the Bank of Japan will release its quarterly Tankan Survey of business sentiment later this morning. The large manufacturers index is expected to see a score of +16 with an outlook of +13, while the large non-manufacturers index is expected to see a score of +33 with an outlook of +28. In the previous three months, all large industry capex was expected to be up 12.6 percent and small industry capex was at 0.1 percent.