FX.co ★ Japanese Shares Fall as Tech Drags

The Nikkei 225 fell 0.8% to below 13,700 on Friday, pulling back from record highs and tracking losses on Wall Street, as technology stocks came under renewed selling pressure despite strong earnings from Nvidia. The move highlighted persistent market sensitivity to AI-related risks, even as investors continue directing capital into Asian tech firms seen as prime beneficiaries of the ongoing AI build-out. Sentiment toward Japanese equities was further pressured by hawkish signals from the Bank of Japan, after Governor Kazuo Ueda and board member Hajime Takata kept the option of a near-term interest rate hike open. Their stance contrasted with more dovish messaging from Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration, which recently nominated two reflationist academics to the BOJ’s policy board. Technology stocks led the decline, including Advantest (-5.4%), Fujikura (-2.9%), Disco Corp (-4.5%), Tokyo Electron (-2.9%) and SoftBank Group (-3.6%).