The Nikkei fell 85 points for the day, up 1.5% for the week, with the exchange rate at 145.36

The market is focused on the geopolitical situation in the Middle East, with the yen rising slightly by less than 0.1% during the Asian session, and the dollar-yen exchange rate falling to 145.36. The Nikkei index opened slightly lower by 16 points this morning (20th), briefly rising by 157 points to reach 38,646 points before fluctuating back down, closing the day down 85 points or 0.2% at 38,403 points, marking a two-day decline, but a weekly increase of 568 points or 1.5%.

Semiconductor equipment stocks performed well against the trend, with Disco (6146.JP), Advantest (6857.JP), and Lasertec (6920.JP) rising between 2.7% and 5%, while chip manufacturer Sumco (3436.JP) rose by 2.8%. Arm (ARM.US), the parent company of Japan's SoftBank (9984.JP), also rose by 2.7%.

Heavy industry stocks were under pressure, with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (7011.JP), IHI (7013.JP), and Kawasaki Heavy Industries (7012.JP) falling between 2.6% and 3.1%.

The retail sector was weak, with Mitsukoshi Isetan (3099.JP) and J.Front Retailing (3086.JP) dropping between 2.2% and 3.1%, and Fast Retailing (9983.JP) closing down by 1.8%.

Nintendo (7974.JP) closed down 4.1%, the largest decline among index stocks, while Tokyo Electric Power Company (9501.JP) also fell by 2.3%. Major automotive stocks declined, with Toyota (7203.JP) and Honda (7267.JP) down by 0.5% to 0.9%, and Mitsubishi Motors (7211.JP) and Nissan (7201.JP) down by 1.1% to 1.4%