(RTTNews) - The stock market in Japan declined below the psychological 10,000-mark and ended in negative territory for the third successive day on Thursday, hurt by stronger local currency. Weakness in oil and other commodity prices and concerns about sustaining economic recovery also influenced market sentiment. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index lost 141.90 points, or 1.42 percent, to close below the 10,000-mark at 9,863, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues fell 11.04 points, or 1.25%, to 874. On the economic front, a report released by the Cabinet Office revealed that core machinery orders declined 4.5% in October, compared to the previous month, and was in line with economists' expectations. On annual basis, machinery orders were down 21% during October, following 22% declined in the previous month. In a separate report, the Bank of Japan revealed that an index measuring the prices of domestic corporate goods rose 0.1% during November compared to the previous month. Economists expected a drop of 0.2% in prices, following a revised 0.8% decline in the previous month. On an annual basis, wholesale prices declined 4.9% during November, following a revised 6.8% drop in October. Light sweet crude oil futures for January delivery ended at $70.50 a barrel in electronic trading, down $0.17 per barrel from previous close at $70.17 a barrel in New York on Wednesday. Most of the stocks ended in negative territory following strength in the local currency, financial crisis in Dubai and Greece, and concerns about sustaining the recovery and fighting deflation. Traders look for direction on the policy front amid strengthening local currency. Automotive stocks ended in negative territory. Suzuki Motor, which announced business and capital tie-up with Germany's Volkswagen yesterday, slumped 6.54%, Toyota Motor declined 1.62%. Honda Motor fell 1.62%, Hino Motors lost 1.32%, Mazda Motor slipped 2.99% and Mitsubishi Motors decreased 2.24%. Trading companies also ended weaker. Mitsubishi Corp. declined 2.05%, Mitsui & Co., lost 1.62%, Toyota Tsusho Corp. fell 1.34%, Itochu Corp. shed 1.71% and Sumitomo Corp. slipped 1.13%. Mixed trading was witnessed among the banking stocks. While Sumitomo Mitsui Financial managed to end in positive territory with a gain of 0.18%, other banks ended in negative territory. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial declined 3.14%, Mizuho Financial lost 2.48% and Resona Holdings edged down 0.42%.

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