LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks fell out of the open Thursday morning, with many exporters lower after a downbeat economic outlook from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke helped U.S. equities close with losses. The Nikkei Stock Average dropped 0.3% to 9,597.72, though moving off a 0.7% deficit at the open. The Topix lost 0.4% to 825.88. Export-focused tech firms were among the top declining blue-chips: Elpida Memory Inc. lost 1.3%, Nintendo Co. fell 2.3%, and Renesas Electronics Corp. gave up 1%, although Sony Corp. gained 0.8%. Toyota Motor Corp. traded flat after saying it would double its U.S. shipments of Prius hybrids, but Nissan Motor Co. rose 1.2% after its cheif executive said production was almost back to normal in the wake of the March 11 Japanese earthquake.
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke said he didn’t have all the answers as to why the economy has struggled recently. The Fed said the recovery would pick up later this year as it keeps interest rates at historic lows. The Fed also says a controversial bond-buying program will end as planned.
U.S. stocks snap a four-day winning streak Wednesday, stumbling in late trading after the Federal Reserve issued a cautious economic outlook just days before it ends its asset-buying program.
On the assumption that the stock market adheres to the principle of regression to the mean, you can argue that stocks are 40% undervalued right now. But using a surprisingly similar line of reasoning, you can also argue that stocks right now are 40% overvalued, reports Mark Hulbert.
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