(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market was trading sharply lower on Monday after Wall Street finished Friday’s volatile session in negative territory. At 8:46 p.m. ET, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 280.96 points or 2.57% at 10,657.18, extending its losses for the third consecutive trading session. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on Tokyo Stock Exchange was losing 25.51 points to 1,022.46.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the mid 104-yen levels in early Tokyo deals, down from Friday’s close in the lower 105-yen range in Tokyo.

U.S. stocks settled sharply lower on Friday despite the House of Representatives approving the $700 billion U.S. financial sector bailout package. Additionally, doubts about the health of the U.S. economy, following the Labor Department’s report that U.S. employers cut 159,000 jobs in the non-farm sector, dented investor sentiment. The Dow closed down 157 points or 1.5% at 10,325, the Nasdaq dropped 29 points or 1.5% to 1,947.39, and the S&P 500 gave away 15 points or 1.4% to 1,099.

Crude oil prices continued to fall in Asia on Monday, as signs of slowing global economic growth raised demand concerns. At 8:53 p.m. ET, oil was quoted at $92.01 a barrel, down $1.87, after the contract for November delivery dropped 9 cents to settle at $93.88 a barrel on Friday in New York trading.

On the economic front, the Bank of Japan is scheduled to kick off its two-day monetary policy meeting on Monday in Tokyo. The central bank will announce its interest rate decision on Tuesday. The bank is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold at 0.50% for the 23rd consecutive month.

Stocks declined almost across the board, led by real estate, iron and steel, and machinery issues.

Sumitomo Realty & Development plunged 5.2%, Mitsui Fudosan tumbled 6.4% and, Mitsubishi Estate fell 5.9%. In the steel sector, Nippon Steel sank 7.5% and JFE Holdings slumped 7.6%. Among machinery makers, Komatsu lost 6.1%, and Hitachi Construction plummeted 7.4%.

Among financial stocks, Mitsubishi UFJ lost 6.8%, Mizuho Financial declined 5.5%, and Sumitomo Mitsui shed 2.7%. Top brokerage Nomura Holdings fell 3.4%.

In the tech sector, Advantest declined 5.5%, Fujitsu lost 4.0%, Fanuc dropped 2.6%, and Kyocera plummeted 4.8%.

Among oil-related stocks, Inpex Holdings slipped 0.7%, Nippon Oil gave away 2.1%, and Nippon Mining Holding shed 4.8%.

Bucking the trend Takeda Pharmaceutical rose 0.7% and Daiichi Sankyo gained 2.1%.

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Posted in Categories: Economy, Japan, Releases, USA.

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