Japan Stocks Fall as Benchmark Indexes Trade Near Bear

Japanese stocks continue to fall for the fourth day, with benchmark gauges on the cusp of sliding into a bear market.

Japanese Topix index slipped 0.4 percent to 1,381.89 as of 9:03 a.m. in Tokyo, taking its loss to 18 percent, the highest since August 10. The Nikkei 225 dropped 0.4 percent to 16,888.37, the gauge is currently down 19 percent from a high June 24 high.

“If China’s GDP numbers aren’t extraordinarily weaker than forecast, the market may start to think that it’s priced in most of the negative factors,” Toshihiko Matsuno, chief strategist at SMBC Friend Securities Co. in Tokyo, said by phone. “I don’t think we’ll have extreme losses today.”

Economists expect China will report steady growth in gross domestic product for the fourth quarter, with data on industrial production and retail sales also due Tuesday. Japan will releases updated figures for December machine tool orders after markets close today in Tokyo.

The MSCI All-Country World Index slipped on Monday to its lowest since July 2013 as banks drove the Stoxx Europe 600 Index to a 13-month low. E-mini futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were little changed. U.S. markets were closed Monday for a holiday.
Brent crude traded near a 12-year low in London, briefly dipping below $28 a barrel, as the lifting of international sanctions on Iran paves the way for increased supply amid a global glut.

Oil’s selloff, which has dragged crude prices down more than 20 percent this year, and slowing growth in China have ignited a wave of volatility through global financial markets in 2016, pushing indexes from China and Japan to Europe toward bear markets.