Japan’s Nikkei 225 drops 2% as Asian stocks retreat

On Monday, the Japanese markets sharply slid as the Asian stocks retreated, following the downturn of Wall Street futures.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 slashed 2.03% or 548.12 points to the 26,455.44 level. Likewise, the broader TOPIX index edged down 1.48% or 28.44 points to the 1,887.47 level.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group declined 3.08% or 1.21 points to $38.26 per share ahead of its earnings report.

At the same time, Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing slumped 6.29% or 29.48 points to $438.77 per share.

Among automakers, Honda dropped 1.96% or 0.52 points to $25.98 per share. Similarly, Toyota lost 0.99% or 0.17 points to $17.21 per share.

In the tech space, Advantest slid 0.58% or 0.38 points to $65.36 per share. Consequently, in the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui dwindled 0.86% or 0.26 points to $30.07 per share.

The major exporters also weakly traded in the Asian stocks. For instance, entertainment giant Sony decreased 2.43% or 2.06 points to $82.77 per share. Similarly, Mitsubishi Electric slipped 1.06% or 0.11 points to $10.39 per share.

Eventually, the major decliner in the Nikkei 225 index is JFE Holdings, losing 7.90% or 0.95 points to $11.22 per share.

Meanwhile, in economic news, the Bank of Japan reported that the country’s economy continues to show improvement. It voted to maintain its monetary policy stimulus, holding the interest rate at -0.10% on current accounts.

Nevertheless, the persistence of COVID-19 cases and the Russian invasion of Ukraine provide significant uncertainties for the global economy. Moreover, the bank noted that inflation could continue to rise in the coming months, limiting the upsides for Asian stocks.

Asian stocks slide on Wall Street’s weakness

This downward trend of Asian stocks followed the negative cues from their US peers. Traders braced for further global monetary policy tightening to tame the mounting inflation.

Accordingly, futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.97% or 316.00 points to the 32,493.00 level. Then, S&P 500 contracts lost 0.97 points or 39.50 points to the 4,080.00 level. In addition, the Nasdaq shed 0.79% or 101.75 points to the 12,595.00 level.

In line with this, Chinese stocks also registered significant losses. The Shenzhen Component index decreased 0.25% or 27.19 points to the 10,782.69 level.

Meanwhile, the benchmark Shanghai Composite traded flat. China’s biggest city continues to tighten its strict lockdown in a fresh push to eliminate infections.

Last week, President Xi Jinping emphasized that he would stick to the zero-Covid policy, adding weight to the Asian stocks.

Furthermore, investors also looked forward to the release of the Chinese trade data later this day.