Japan’s Benchmark Nikkei 225 index dropped by 1% as the majority of Asian markets were closed for the Lunar New Year Holiday. US Futures, declines, oil prices were mixed, and silver & gold also declined
Associated Press Tokyo- Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index dropped by 1% on Tuesday following a U.S national holiday, while the majority of Asian markets were also closed for the Lunar New Year holidays.
U.S Futures declined, and oil prices were mixed. The prices for gold and silver also dropped.
The weak economic data released on Monday morning is casting a shadow over Tokyo’s equity market and weighing on the share price of SoftBank Group, resulting in a 6.2 percent decline. This ongoing sell-off follows massive gains made after the landslide victory by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling political party in the general election held on February 8.
As of midday, the Nikkei 225 was down 1% at 56,237.65. Many traders were likely taking profits after the Nikkei hit all-time highs, and polls show that support for Takaichi is slowly declining as the hopes of economic revival via her plans of increasing government spending and reducing taxes recede.
The S&P/ASX 200 rose by 0.3% to 8,964.10 in Australia, while the Sensex in India fell by 0.1% on the same day. The SET index in Thailand was also down by less than 0.2% on Monday.
In Europe, trading on Monday afternoon was mixed, while US markets were closed for Presidents Day and will reopen on Tuesday. The S&P 500 closed lower by less than 0.1% on Friday, which comes just one day after it had its second-worst loss since Thanksgiving Day last year. The NASDAQ Composite dipped marginally by 0.2% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.1%
Read: Stock Futures Rise in Short Week as AI Disruption Fears Linger
Share price fluctuations are mainly dependent on investor sentiment regarding the risk associated with large amounts of capital being invested into AI, as well as inflation and the potential effects of high inflation on interest rates.
In another deal on early Tuesday, benchmark US crude increased by 65 cents to $63.54 per barrel while Brent crude, the international standard, dropped by 69 cents to $68.36 per barrel.
The US dollar slipped to 153.17 Japanese yen from 153.51 yen. The euro cost $1.1841, down from $1.1852
The price of gold and silver fell by 1.4% and 3.4%. Bitcoin also dropped by 0.6% to $68,500.
