Japanese Shares Fall as Tech Stocks Weigh
2026-08-06 00:44
By
Jam Kaimo Samonte
1 min. read
The Nikkei 225 Index fell 1.5% to below 65,300 on Thursday, reversing the previous session’s gains as weakness on Wall Street weighed on sentiment and chip and artificial intelligence-related stocks retreated.
The declines came despite a further drop in oil prices after Iran and Oman reached an agreement on the partial reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns over inflation and the outlook for interest rates.
Japanese companies tied to the global AI infrastructure boom posted steep losses, including Kioxia Holdings (-10.7%), Taiyo Yuden (-9.8%), Murata Manufacturing (-5.7%), Ibiden Co (-6%), and Tokyo Electron (-5.7%).
SoftBank Group also fell nearly 4% after surging almost 14% in the previous session, as investors awaited the investment giant’s earnings report.
Meanwhile, gains in financial and consumer stocks helped limit broader losses, with Mitsubishi UFJ (1.5%), Toyota Motor (1.7%), and Fast Retailing (1.8%) all moving higher.