Japanese Shares Tumble on Tech Rout

2026-07-17 06:51 By Jam Kaimo Samonte 1 min. read

The Nikkei 225 Index plunged 4.03% to close at 64,140 on Friday, while the broader Topix Index fell 2.72% to 3,919, with both benchmarks finishing at their lowest levels in more than a month as a global selloff in semiconductor stocks accelerated amid mounting concerns over heavy AI-related spending and stretched valuations.

Investor sentiment was also weighed down by the escalating conflict between the US and Iran, which drove oil prices higher and heightened inflationary and interest rate concerns.

Technology and AI-related shares led the declines in Japan, with Kioxia Holdings tumbling 16.1%, Tokyo Electron sliding 8.1%, SoftBank Group losing 9%, Advantest falling 7.2%, and Taiyo Yuden dropping 11.9%.

For the week, the Nikkei 225 and Topix indexes recorded losses of 6.4% and 2.9%, respectively.

Japanese markets will be closed on Monday for a holiday.



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