Japanese Shares Fall as Oil Prices Gain
The Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.6% to around 68,500 on Friday, ending a two-day winning streak as oil prices climbed amid concerns that a potential escalation in the US-Iran conflict could further disrupt Middle East energy supplies and reignite inflation pressures. Investors also assessed data showing Tokyo’s core inflation accelerated to 2.7% in September, rising above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target for the first time in nine months, partly due to higher oil prices. In corporate news, SoftBank Group said it completed the third and final $10 billion tranche of its follow-on investment in OpenAI, bringing its total investment in the AI company to $64.6 billion for an ownership stake of about 13%. Notable declines came from major firms including Kioxia (-2.3%), SoftBank (-3.8%), Taiyo Yuden (-3.3%), Fast Retailing (-1.5%) and Toyota (-1.8%). For the week, the Nikkei remains on track to advance more than 3%, marking its third consecutive weekly gain.
6% to around 68,500 on Friday, ending a two-day winning streak as oil prices climbed amid concerns that a potential escalation in the US-Iran conflict could further disrupt Middle East energy supplies and reignite inflation pressures. 7% in September, rising above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target for the first time in nine months, partly due to higher oil prices. 6 billion for an ownership stake of about 13%. 8%).
For the week, the Nikkei remains on track to advance more than 3%, marking its third consecutive weekly gain.