Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index fell 1.3% to close at 64,075 on Tuesday, hitting a one-month low as persistent concerns over AI-related capital spending and higher borrowing costs continued to weigh on technology stocks. The decline also underscored a divergence from Wall Street’s rebound overnight, with Japanese tech names coming under renewed pressure amid selling in AI-linked shares.
Among the notable laggards were Kioxia Holdings (-3.4%), SoftBank Group (-6.0%), Taiyo Yuden (-5.1%), Fujikura (-6.5%) and Tokyo Electron (-2.6%). Financials also recorded steep losses, with Mitsubishi UFJ down 3.7%, Mizuho Financial off 5.0% and Sumitomo Mitsui lower by 3.9%.
In credit markets, credit-default swap spreads on SoftBank Group widened to their highest levels in nearly four years, signaling mounting investor concern over the company’s AI-related funding requirements and the potential for a large-scale acquisition.
