Japanese Market Modestly Lower

The Japanese stock market is modestly lower on Monday after opening in the green, snapping a four-session winning streak, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday. The Nikkei 225 is falling well below the 68,600 level, with weakness in index heavyweights, exporters and financial stocks amid softer-than expected domestic GDP numbers, partially offset by gains in automakers and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 140.56 points or 0.20 percent at 68,573.24, after touching a high of 69,100.43 earlier. Japanese shares ended notably higher on Friday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is down almost 1 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining almost 2 percent and Toyota is edging up 0.4 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 2 percent, Tokyo Electron is edging up 0.2 percent and Screen Holdings is adding more than 1 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is losing almost 1 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging down 0.4 percent and Mizuho Financial is declining almost 2 percent.

The major exporters are mostly lower. Mitsubishi Electric is edging down 0.4 percent, Canon is down more than 1 percent and Sony is losing more than 2 percent, while Panasonic is edging up 0.3 percent.

Among the other major losers, Ebara is plunging more than 9 percent and Trend Micro is tumbling more than 9 percent, while NEC and Dentsu Group are sliding almost 7 percent each. Nomura Research Institute is slipping more than 4 percent, while BayCurrent, Asahi Group, SHIFT and Sompo Holdings are declining almost 4 percent each. Sumco and Fujitsu are losing more than 3 percent each, while Hitachi, Kirin Holdings, Kubota and Sapporo Holdings are down almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Kioxia Holdings is surging almost 6 percent and NEXON is advancing more than 4 percent, while ARCHION and MS&AD Insurance are gaining almost 4 percent each. Sumitomo Metal Mining is adding more than 3 percent, while Dowa Holdings, Mitsubishi Materials and Mitsui Kinzoku are up almost 3 percent each.

In economic news, Japan’s gross domestic product expanded a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent on quarter in the second quarter of 2026, the Cabinet Office said in Monday’s preliminary reading. That missed forecasts for a gain of 0.5 percent, which would have been unchanged. On a yearly basis, GDP was up 1.1 percent – again shy of expectations for an increase of 2.0 percent following the upwardly revised 1.9 percent gain in the three months prior (originally 1.8 percent).

Capital expenditure dropped 1.2 percent on quarter, missing forecasts for a gain of 0.4 percent following the downwardly revised 1.0 percent decline in the previous quarter (originally -0.7 percent). External demand was up 0.5 percent on quarter, up from 0.3 percent three months earlier. Private consumption was flat on quarter after rising 0.5 percent in Q1.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 159 yen-range on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved modestly lower during trading on Friday, giving back ground after moving mostly higher over the two previous sessions. Selling pressure remained relatively subdued, however, limiting the downside for the major averages.

The major averages all finished the day in negative territory. The Dow dipped 107.58 points or 0.2 percent to 53,732.41, the Nasdaq fell 73.86 points or 0.3 percent to 26,729.16 and the S&P 500 slipped 13.23 points or 0.2 percent to 7,785.76.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned mixed over the course of the session. While the German DAX Index rose by 0.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index both dipped by 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices surged on Friday as the U.S. and Iran continue to spar on their demands, leaving the Strait of Hormuz shut for shipping traffic. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was up $1.05 or 1.29 percent at $82.30 per barrel.

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