Japanese Shares Fall on Tech Weakness
The Nikkei 225 Index fell 1% to around 64,300 on Tuesday, approaching one-month lows as concerns over AI spending and rising borrowing costs continued to weigh on technology stocks. Japanese equities also diverged from Wall Street’s overnight recovery, led by chipmakers, as local companies remain highly vulnerable to AI-related selloffs. Notable decliners included Kioxia Holdings (-2.9%), SoftBank Group (-4.8%), Taiyo Yuden (-3.4%), Fujikura (-4.2%) and Tokyo Electron (-1.7%). Financial stocks also weakened, with Mitsubishi UFJ falling 1.5%, Mizuho Financial declining 2.8% and Sumitomo Mitsui slipping 1.6%. On monetary policy, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said underlying inflation was already nearing the central bank’s 2% target, reinforcing expectations of a potentially tighter policy stance. Meanwhile, investors are awaiting upcoming trade and inflation data for further indications of Japan’s economic outlook.
The Nikkei 225 Index fell 1% to around 64,300 on Tuesday, approaching one-month lows as concerns over AI spending and rising borrowing costs continued to weigh on technology stocks. Japanese equities also diverged from Wall Street’s overnight recovery, led by chipmakers, as local companies remain highly vulnerable to AI-related selloffs. Notable decliners included Kioxia Holdings (-2.9%), SoftBank Group (-4.8%), Taiyo Yuden (-3.4%), Fujikura (-4.2%) and Tokyo Electron (-1.7%). Financial stocks also weakened, with Mitsubishi UFJ falling 1.5%, Mizuho Financial declining 2.8% and Sumitomo Mitsui slipping 1.6%.
On monetary policy, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said underlying inflation was already nearing the central bank’s 2% target, reinforcing expectations of a potentially tighter policy stance. Meanwhile, investors are awaiting upcoming trade and inflation data for further indications of Japan’s economic outlook.