(RTTNews) – The Japanese stock market fell sharply on Thursday, abandoning gains from the previous two sessions, with the Nikkei 225 benchmark remaining above the 28,800 level, following largely negative signals from Wall Street overnight , as traders digested the US Fed’s Monetary Policy Minutes, which indicate the US Fed is preparing to start shrinking its balance sheet soon after raising interest rates.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 loses 521.47 points or 1.78% to 28,810.69, after hitting an earlier low of 28,806.10. Japanese stocks ended slightly higher on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group lost 1.4%, while operator Uniqlo Fast Retailing fell nearly 3%. Among automakers, Toyota adds more than 1 percent and Honda is up 0.3 percent. In the tech space, Advantest is down more than 2%, Screen Holdings is down 3.5% and Tokyo Electron is down almost 2%.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is down 0.2%, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are flat.

The main exporters are lower. Sony is down 6.5%, Mitsubishi Electric is down nearly 1% and Canon is down 0.4% slightly. Panasonic is flat.

Among the other big losers, Terumo is down more than 7% and M3 is down more than 6%, while Taiyo Yuden and Fuji Electric are down more than 4% each. Keisei Electric Railway is down almost 4%.

Conversely, Shionogi & Co. gained nearly 3% and Shinsei Bank added more than 2%. In economic news, Japan’s service sector continued to expand in December, albeit at a slower pace, the latest Jibun Bank survey revealed Thursday with a services PMI score of 52.1. That’s down from 53.0 in November, although it remains above the 50 expansion or recession line that separates expansion from contraction. The survey also showed that the composite index fell to 52.5 in December from 53.3 in November.

In the currency market, the US dollar traded in the upper range of 115 yen on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks fell significantly in Wednesday’s session as traders reacted negatively to the minutes of the last Federal Reserve meeting. The technology-rich Nasdaq posted a particularly pronounced decline, extending the sharp decline observed in the previous session.

After hitting a new intraday high, the Dow Jones fell after the Fed minutes’ release, falling 392.54 points or 1.1% to 36,407.11. The Nasdaq plunged 522.54 points or 3.3% to 15,100.17 and the S&P 500 fell 92.96 points or 1.9% to 4,700.58.

Meanwhile, major European markets moved higher on this day. While the UK FTSE 100 index rose 0.2%, the German DAX index and the French CAC 40 index rose 0.7% and 0.8% respectively.

Crude oil prices showed a notable lead on Wednesday on optimism that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus will not have a significant impact on global demand. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for February delivery jumped $ 0.86 or 1.1% to $ 77.85 a barrel.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.