The Tokyo stock market on April 8th may extend its winning streak to four consecutive sessions, though sentiment remains divided amid conflicting bullish and bearish views. U.S. President Trump set 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on April 7th as the deadline for negotiations over potential large-scale military operations against Iran by the U.S. and Israel, and markets are likely to swing sharply depending on the outcome.

European equity markets on the prior session closed mixed, though indexes in major economies by GDP generally declined, with Germany's DAX falling more than 1%. As Trump's ceasefire negotiation deadline approached, position-reducing moves dominated. WTI crude oil futures continuing to establish higher lows above $110 per barrel are also raising concerns over cost-push inflationary pressures. That said, short-covering activity was also observed, with markets in various countries posting short-covering rallies in the morning.

U.S. equities opened on a risk-off note, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling more than 400 points at one point. The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran had broken off direct ceasefire talks with the U.S., while The New York Times reported that Iran had signaled to mediator Pakistan that it would no longer participate in negotiations, further heightening risk aversion. However, given that President Trump has repeatedly extended negotiation deadlines with Iran in the past, market participants remained aware that a last-minute extension was possible. After Pakistani Prime Minister Sharif publicly requested a two-week extension of the deadline via social media, buy-backs emerged in response, and both the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 ? a key institutional benchmark ? closed modestly in positive territory.

In the U.S. market on April 7th, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 85.42 points to 46,584.46, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 21.51 points to 22,017.84.

On the economic calendar for today: domestic releases include Japan's February Monthly Labour Survey, March Securities Investment Flow, February Balance of Payments, and March Economy Watchers Survey. Overseas events include policy rate decisions from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the Reserve Bank of India, Germany's February manufacturing new orders, Eurozone February retail sales, the FOMC minutes from the March 17?18 meeting, and a

Source: MINKABU PRESS