Japanese Shares Close in Red, Pulled Down by Sell Off in Regional Tech Stocks

Japanese shares slipped on Tuesday to close in the red, taking cues from its Asian peers in the region that were dragged down by semiconductor-related stocks. Benchmark Nikkei 225 closed down 1,480.73 points or 2.12% at 68,256.96. Investors were cautious after Korean electronic goods giant Samsung's (KRX:005930) stock plunged nerly 8% despite expectations of booking 89.3 trillion won to 89.5 trillion won in operating profit in the second quarter of 2026, up 19-fold from 4.68 trillion won a year earlier. Back home, Japan's leading economic index, which gauges the economic outlook for the months ahead, rose to 116.8 points in May from 116.1 in April, according to preliminary data from the Cabinet Office released Tuesday. Also, Japan's foreign reserves narrowed by $18.4 billion in June from the previous month, while official reserve assets as of the end of June fell to $1.287 trillion from $1.305 trillion at the end of May. On the corporate side, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (TYO:8306) reported net income attributable to owners surged to 1.73 trillion yen for the fiscal year ended March 31, from 1.27 trillion yen a year earlier. The company's earnings per share rose to.