The Nikkei 225 moved toward the 70,000 level as profit-taking selling continued. The morning decline widened to around 600 points, and the market is expected to remain rangebound near its lows in the afternoon.
The Nikkei 225 stood at 69,373.40 yen, down 662.31 yen from the previous day, while TOPIX stood at 4,092.09 points, down 62.02 points.
The afternoon investment strategy called for the Nikkei 225 to remain rangebound near its lows. The morning decline widened substantially from the 195.07-yen loss at the open.
Uncertainty surrounding the Middle East continues, but the decline in crude oil futures prices in overseas markets could provide reassurance to the stock market. As companies with February year-ends enter the period when they announce interim results for the six months ended August, some expect buying interest in stocks reporting strong results to increase.
In the United States, inflation concerns stemming from higher crude oil prices and rising bond yields provided selling pressure. Toward the end of the session, however, crude oil prices turned lower, while long-term interest rates were also seen struggling to rise following a strong auction of domestic 10-year government bonds. These developments are expected to affect the Nikkei 225's direction.