--- title: "The Nikkei Index fell 681 points or 1.3% in the half-day trading of Asian stocks, with wire and metal stocks declining, and Tokyo Electric Power Company dropping over 6%" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/279196759.md" description: "Japanese stocks fell in the morning session, with the Nikkei index down 681 points or 1.3%, reporting at 53,138 points. The market is concerned about the risks of a global economic downturn and central bank policies, with wire and metal stocks generally declining, and Tokyo Electric Power falling 6.2%. Artificial intelligence and semiconductor stocks performed poorly, with SoftBank and Tokyo Electron down 0.7% and 0.2%, respectively. Other major stocks such as Toyota, Panasonic, and Isetan Mitsukoshi also saw declines" datetime: "2026-03-16T03:10:52.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/279196759.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/279196759.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/279196759.md) --- # The Nikkei Index fell 681 points or 1.3% in the half-day trading of Asian stocks, with wire and metal stocks declining, and Tokyo Electric Power Company dropping over 6% Japanese stocks fell in the morning session, with Brent oil prices remaining high above $100. The market is concerned about the risks of a global economic downturn, and investors are watching the monetary policy meetings of the central banks in the US, Europe, and Japan this week, worrying that the central banks may adopt a "hawkish" stance, putting pressure on Japanese stocks. The Nikkei average opened down 191 points, initially rising 163 points to a high of 53,983 points before retreating, at one point dropping 705 points to a low of 53,113 points, and closing down 681 points or 1.3% at 53,138 points. In the artificial intelligence and semiconductor sectors, SoftBank (9984.JP) and Tokyo Electron (8035.JP) fell by 0.7% and 0.2%, respectively, while Advantest (6857.JP) and Disk (6146.JP) dropped by 1.3% and 1.6%. Raytech (6920.JP) fell by 2.3%, while memory stock Kioxia (285A.JP) rose by 1.4%. In the wire sector, Furukawa Electric (5801.JP) and Fujikura (5803.JP) fell by 6.7%, and Sumitomo Electric (5802.JP) fell by 4.4%. In the heavy industry sector, Kawasaki Heavy Industries (7012.JP) and IHI (7013.JP) fell by 3.5% and 2.2%, respectively. In the metals sector, JX Metals (5016.JP) and Mitsui Mining & Smelting (5706.JP) fell by 4% and 3.6%, while Sumitomo Metal Mining (5713.JP) fell by 5.3%. In the rare earth concept, Mitsui Ocean Development (6269.JP) rose by 4.6%. Tokyo Electric Power Company (9501.JP) fell by 6.2%, as Unit 6 of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant was suspended, delaying commercial operations. In other stocks, Fast Retailing (9983.JP) fell by 1%, Toyota (7203.JP) fell by 1.2%, Honda (7267.JP) and Nissan (7201.JP) fell by 2.2% and 3.2%, respectively. Panasonic (6752.JP) fell by 2.3%, and Ryohin Keikaku (7453.JP) fell by 3.8%. Trading companies Itochu (8001.JP) and Mitsubishi Corporation (8058.JP) fell by 2% and 1.9%, respectively. Bank stocks Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.JP) fell by 1.6%, and department store company Mitsukoshi Isetan (3099.JP) fell by 3%. The exchange rate of the US dollar against the Japanese yen is 159.58 ### Related Stocks - [TM.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TM.US.md) - [FLJP.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FLJP.US.md) - [6752.JP](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/6752.JP.md) - [TMH.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TMH.US.md) - [8035.JP](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/8035.JP.md) - [9984.JP](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/9984.JP.md) - [DXJ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/DXJ.US.md) - [9501.JP](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/9501.JP.md) - [9513.JP](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/9513.JP.md) - [7203.JP](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/7203.JP.md) - [EWJ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/EWJ.US.md) - [BBJP.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BBJP.US.md) - [9506.JP](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/9506.JP.md) - [YCS.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/YCS.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [SoftBank Push May Reveal AI Lending Demand](https://longbridge.com/en/news/282876301.md) - [Japan's Nikkei rallies to six-week high as oil prices ease on Iran talks optimism](https://longbridge.com/en/news/282615309.md) - [Toyota’s $15,000 electric SUV surpasses 80,000 deliveries in China in its first year](https://longbridge.com/en/news/283045277.md) - [09:15 ETMarelli becomes technical partner of TOYOTA RACING in FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC)](https://longbridge.com/en/news/282852660.md) - [08:50 ETEl Draft de la NFL muestra el camino: Toyota como defensora implacable del futuro del fútbol americano](https://longbridge.com/en/news/282848406.md)