Nikkei Plunges Over 3%, European Markets Are Trading UP

Asian markets closed mostly lower on the first trading of the week. The Nikkei 225 index suffered the worst losses on Monday, as investors initiated a second round of their profit taking on the back of the stronger yen. Traders are still spooked about last week's increase in the bond market volatility. The Nikkei Index plunged to almost 4% during the session, but later recovered some of the losses and closed at 14,143 or with a loss of -3.21%. On the other hand, The Hang Seng was the best performer among Asian markets and closed with a gain of 0.30%.

Toyota Motors, Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd, Sony Corporation and Sharp Corp were among the top losers and they lost -5%, -7.6%, -6.3% and -5.3% respectively. The volatility in the bond market also increased the selling pressure on the financial sector, which includes banks and insurance companies. Mizhuho Financial Group Inc. and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial group both plummeted with a loss of -2.9% and -4.3% respectively.

European stock markets are trading higher during the early hours of trading, and are trying to recover their losses from the previous two days. The FTSE MIB is the best performer in the European session, and is up by almost 205 points or with a gain of 1.21%. The CAC 40 is the second best performer and is up by almost 79 points or with a gain of 0.79%. However, the volume in these markets does remain very low today, as the U.K and the U.S markets are closed due to their public holidays.

The Banking sector is the best performing sector in the European session, and is pushing the indices up. Swedbank AB, Banco Santander SA and BNP Paribas SA are the best banking stocks so far in the session, and each one is up almost 1%, 0.96% and 1% respectively.

DISCLOSURE & DISCLAIMER:
The above is for informational purposes only and NOT to be construed as specific trading advice. responsibility for trade decisions is solely with the reader.

by Naeem Aslam