Japanese Shares Drop as Tech Stocks Tumble

2026-07-24 00:43 By Judith Sib-at 1 min. read

The Nikkei 225 Index fell 2.73% to end at 64,611 on Friday, reversing the previous session's gains, while the Topix Index dropped 1.05% to 4,011, dragged down by a broad retreat in tech stocks amid fresh worries over massive AI spending.

Investor caution was further amplified by escalating tensions in the Middle East, which pushed oil prices sharply higher and heightened inflation fears.

On the data front, Japan's headline inflation rose to 1.7% in June, the highest level in six months, from 1.5% in May, reinforcing the case for further interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan.

Technology and AI-related shares led the declines in Japan, including Kioxia Holdings (-9.5%), Advantest (-6.0%), SoftBank Group (-7.1%), Tokyo Electron (-5.0%), Taiyo Yuden (-6.1%), Lasertec (-4.3%), and Murata Manufacturing (-2.7%).

Despite Friday's pullback, the Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.7% for the week, while the Topix Index gained more than 2%, marking their first weekly advances in three.



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