The Nikkei 225 Index fell 1.93% to 64,011 on Friday, while the broader Topix Index declined 0.65% to 4,028, with both benchmarks posting sharp weekly losses. Equities came under pressure from elevated oil prices and rising global bond yields, while investors also looked ahead to the US CPI release after Thursday’s PPI data showed an acceleration in wholesale prices last month, reinforcing expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike next week.
On the domestic front, the Bank of Japan is likewise expected to raise interest rates, after board member Kazuyuki Masu signaled that policymakers will continue tightening policy and gradually scale back monetary support as underlying inflation nears the 2% target.
Technology and AI-related stocks led the downturn, with Kioxia Holdings sliding 7%, SoftBank Group dropping 4%, Advantest losing 6.5%, Tokyo Electron falling 2.6%, and Taiyo Yuden retreating 2.1%.