FX.co ★ Japanese Market Significantly Lower

The Japanese market has experienced significant downturns on Thursday despite favorable influences from other global markets. This downturn negates the market's gains from the previous session. The Nikkei 225, for instance, plummeted well under the 40,300 level with most sectors experiencing losses. These losses were an aftermath of profit realization that followed a recent surge in market strength.

The Nikkei 225 Index faced a downswing of 519.08 points or 1.27 percent to 40,243.65 after recording a low rate of 40,213.21 earlier. This happened after Japanese shares rose considerably the day before.

Prominent market players like the SoftBank Group and the Fast Retailing, the Uniqlo operator reported a nearly 1 percent decline. Automotive manufacturers are not doing any better, with Toyota barely falling by 0.1 percent and Honda slightly rising up by 0.3 percent.

Within the tech industry, Advantest reported a close to 2 percent decline while Tokyo Electron and Screen Holdings barely fell between 0.2 to 0.4 percent.

In the financial sector, both Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial reported nearly a 1 percent decrease while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial barely fell by 0.2 percent.

Major exporters like Panasonic and Mitsubishi Electric recorded a slight fall of 0.3 percent while Sony faced a 1.5 percent decrease. Canon, on the other hand, rose slightly by 0.1 percent.

Some companies however recorded notable gains - Tokyo Electric Power, Sumitomo Realty & Development, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries gained more than 4 percent. Nippon Electric Glasis increased by almost 4 percent while Shiseido rose more than 3 percent. Mitsui Fudosan, Tokyo Tatemono, and FUJIFILM all advanced by almost 3 percent.

On the other hand, both Nitori Holdings and TDK declined by almost 3 percent.

Regarding the foreign exchange market, the U.S. dollar was traded in the lower 151 yen range on Thursday.

Wall Street stocks fluctuated throughout the Wednesday trade session, but ultimately ended the day mostly on a high note thanks to a surge during the late hours of the day. Consequently, the Dow and the S&P 500 were able to bounce back from their three-day low streak.

Major averages were tipped to the upside, with the Dow making noticeable gains. The Dow jumped by 477.75 points or 1.2 percent to 39,760.08, the S&P 500 advanced by 44.91 points or 0.9 percent to 5,248.49, and the Nasdaq climbed by 83.82 points or 0.5 percent to 16,399.52.

Major European markets also ended the day on an upswing. The German DAX Index went up by 0.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index went up by 0.3 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index ended a bit above the neutral line.

Crude oil prices fell on Wednesday following reports of an unexpected rise in U.S. crude and gasoline inventories the previous week. As a result, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended on a low note, dropping by $0.27 or 0.33 percent to $81.35 a barrel.