FX.co ★ Japanese Shares Track Wall Street Lower

Japanese stocks fell for the fifth consecutive session on Wednesday, influenced by a selloff on Wall Street the previous night. The decline was further fueled by U.S. President Donald Trump's increasingly assertive remarks concerning Greenland, which negatively impacted global risk appetite. The Nikkei 225 decreased by about 1% to approximately 52,450, while the broader Topix Index saw a 1.3% decrease, reaching roughly 3,580. Domestically, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama called for calm following a surge in Japanese Government Bond (JGB) yields, which stemmed from rising fiscal concerns related to proposed reductions in the 8% sales tax on food. Investors are also preparing for a snap election on February 8, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi aiming to consolidate her power and pursue a more expansionary fiscal strategy. Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan is widely anticipated to maintain its current policy stance later this week. The technology and financial sectors experienced notable declines, with notable losses in companies like Disco Corp (-1.4%), Advantest (-1.4%), SoftBank Group (-2.3%), Mitsubishi UFJ (-2.9%), and Sumitomo Mitsui (-2.8%).