Japanese Shares Track Wall Street Lower

2026-02-13 00:43 By Jam Kaimo Samonte 1 min. read

The Nikkei 225 fell 1.21% to close at 56,942, while the broader Topix declined 1.63% to 3,819 on Friday, retreating from record highs and following losses on Wall Street amid renewed AI concerns.

US equities sold off on persistent doubts about the sustainability of AI capital expenditures, with fears of disruption to traditional business models weighing on several sectors.

SoftBank Group, widely seen as Japan’s AI bellwether, slumped nearly 9%, even after returning to quarterly profit on valuation gains tied to OpenAI.

HR technology firm Recruit Holdings and industrial conglomerate Hitachi dropped 9.5% and 6.6%, respectively.

In contrast, Kioxia Holdings surged 7.9% after posting strong quarterly results, supported by an AI-driven rally in NAND prices.

Despite Friday’s pullback, the benchmark indexes ended the week with gains, underpinned by optimism that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s policy agenda will support domestic growth without undermining Japan’s fiscal position.



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