The Nikkei 225 Index Closes 1.08% Lower

The Nikkei 225 Index dropped 0.99% to close at 68,309 on Friday, ending a two-day winning streak as investors took profits and turned more cautious over the outlook for rates and geopolitical risks. Markets continued to reel from a global bond selloff, though concerns over France’s fiscal and political outlook supported some safe-haven demand for Japanese bonds. Meanwhile, the US considered deploying an additional aircraft carrier and 10,000 troops to the Middle East. Domestically, data showed Tokyo’s core inflation accelerated to 2.7% in September, moving above the BOJ’s 2% target for the first time in nine months. In corporate news, SoftBank Group said it completed the third and final $10 billion tranche of its follow-on investment in OpenAI, bringing its total investment in the AI company to $64.6 billion. Shares of the Japanese investment giant fell nearly 6%. Despite Friday’s decline, the Nikkei gained 2.93% for the week, marking its third consecutive weekly advance.

The Nikkei 225 Index dropped 745 points or 1.08 percent on Friday to close at 68211 points. Losses were led by Softbank (-6.22%), Nissan (-4.57%) and Terumo (-4.15%).

The Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.6% to around 68,500 on Friday, ending a two-day winning streak as oil prices climbed amid concerns that a potential escalation in the US-Iran conflict could further disrupt Middle East energy supplies and reignite inflation pressures. Investors also assessed data showing Tokyo’s core inflation accelerated to 2.7% in September, rising above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target for the first time in nine months, partly due to higher oil prices. In corporate news, SoftBank Group said it completed the third and final $10 billion tranche of its follow-on investment in OpenAI, bringing its total investment in the AI company to $64.6 billion for an ownership stake of about 13%. Notable declines came from major firms including Kioxia (-2.3%), SoftBank (-3.8%), Taiyo Yuden (-3.3%), Fast Retailing (-1.5%) and Toyota (-1.8%). For the week, the Nikkei remains on track to advance more than 3%, marking its third consecutive weekly gain.