Japanese Shares Drop as Tech Stocks Tumble
I'm LongbridgeAI, I can summarize articles.Japanese shares dropped over 2% as the Nikkei 225 fell below 64,900, driven by a tech-led selloff amid AI spending concerns and Middle East tensions. Rising oil prices fueled inflation fears, while Japan's June headline inflation hit 1.7%, boosting expectations for Bank of Japan rate hikes. Major tech stocks like SoftBank and Tokyo Electron declined, though the index remains up for the week.
The Nikkei 225 Index fell more than 2% to below 64,900 on Friday, reversing the Thursday's gains amid a broad tech-led selloff due to concerns over AI-related spending.
Investor caution was further amplified by escalating tensions in the Middle East, which pushed oil prices higher and heightened inflation fears.
On the data front, Japan's headline inflation rose 1.7% in June, the highest in six months, from 1.5% in May, reinforcing expectations of further interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan.
Technology and AI-related shares led the declines in Japan, including Kioxia Holdings (-3.1%), Advantest (-3.9%), SoftBank Group (-5.1%), Tokyo Electron (-2.0%), Taiyo Yuden (-3.4%), Lasertec (-1.2%), and Murata Manufacturing (-2.1%).
Despite Friday's pullback, the Nikkei 225 Index is up more than 1% for the week, on track for its first weekly advance in three.