The Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.7% to close at 60,819 on Thursday, snapping a three-session winning streak as it tracked weaker US stock futures amid mounting uncertainty over Nvidia’s leadership. Reports that the chipmaker’s board was preparing to remove CEO Jensen Huang over alleged multiple affairs raised concerns about potential spillover effects across global markets, particularly among Asian suppliers, given Nvidia’s pivotal role in the AI sector.
On the domestic front, Japanese producer prices rose 7.1% year-on-year in October, beating market expectations of 6.5% and accelerating from a 6.8% gain in September. The stronger-than-expected data bolstered expectations of further monetary policy tightening by the Bank of Japan.
Technology and AI-related stocks led the declines, with notable losses in Kioxia Holdings (-2.8%), Advantest (-4.6%), SoftBank Group (-3%), Taiyo Yuden (-4.4%), and Ibiden Co (-8.3%).