(RTTNews) - With the U.S. Federal Reserve policy statement not containing any big surprises, the mood in the Japanese stock market was quite cautious on Thursday morning. Investors, choosing to wait for earnings report from automobile giant Toyota Motor and the data on U.S. jobs, were mostly seen staying on the sidelines in morning trades.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which opened lower by around 41 points at 9,803 and dropped down to 9,719, was down with a loss of 113.63 points, or 1.15%, at 9,730.68 at the end of the morning session.

Bank stocks were trading mixed. Machinery and electric machinery stocks also exhibited a mixed trend. Steel and non-ferrous metals stocks were mostly down in the red. Food, chemicals and pharmaceuticals stocks were also mostly trading weak.

After an initial upmove on the back of stronger-than-expected results, Nissan Motor pared some gains and was trading modestly higher than its previous closing price at the end of the morning session.

Buoyed by a weaker yen and reports that the company will set up a research and development base in China as early as 2010, shares of automobile major Toyota Motor Corp. rallied higher in early trades. However, due to resistance at higher levels, the stock has drifted down into the red subsequently.

Shares of Japan Airlines Corp. were trading lower following Standard & Poor’s lowering the long-term rating on the ailing carrier from B- to CCC and its rating on long-term senior debt from B to CCC+. The S&P also said it will retain the carrier on CreditWatch with negative implications.

Sanyo Electric Co. shares plunged more than 25% in early trades Thursday after Panasonic Corp. said the previous evening that it will offer 131 yen per share in its tender offer as planned earlier.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the upper 90 yen range early Thursday in Tokyo after climbing to the lower 91 yen level overnight in New York on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to leave its monetary policy unchanged. In early trades, the dollar fetched 90.68-90.70 yen against Wednesday’s close of 90.69-90.79 yen in New York and 90.55-90.56 yen in Tokyo.

Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia and Korea are trading notably lower. New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan are also trading weak, while Shanghai is up with a modest gain. Markets in the region had closed moderately higher on Wednesday.

On Wall Street, stocks ended on a mixed note for a second straight session on Wednesday, giving up earlier gains following news that the Federal Reserve left interest rates near record lows amid continued economic concerns.

The choppy trading came after the Fed left its target for the federal funds rate unchanged in a range from zero to a quarter percent and reiterated its assessment that “exceptionally” low rates will continue for an “extended period.”

The major averages all saw notable downside in late day trading, pushing the tech-heavy Nasdaq into negative territory. The Nasdaq closed lower by 1.8 points, or 0.1%, at 2,055.5, while the Dow moved up 30.2 points, or 0.3%, to 9,802.1 and the S&P 500 gained 1.1 points, or 0.1% to close at 1,046.5.

Major European markets moved notably higher on Wednesday. U.K.’s FTSE 100 and the German DAX index gained 1.4% and 1.7% respectively, while the French CAC 40 index moved up 2.4%.

Crude oil prices rallied above US$80 per barrel on Wednesday after the Energy Information Administration reported a drop in weekly inventories. Light sweet crude for December finished at US$80.40 per barrel, up 80 cents for the session.

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Posted in Categories: Australia, Eurozone, Japan, New Zealand, Releases, Stocks, USA.

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