The Nikkei 225 Index declined 1.5% to below 65,300 on Thursday, erasing the previous session’s gains as weakness on Wall Street dampened sentiment and chipmakers as well as artificial intelligence-related stocks pulled back. This selloff occurred despite a further drop in oil prices after Iran and Oman agreed to partially reopen the Strait of Hormuz, easing some inflation and interest rate concerns.
Japanese firms tied to the global AI infrastructure boom led the declines, with notable losses in Kioxia Holdings (-10.7%), Taiyo Yuden (-9.8%), Murata Manufacturing (-5.7%), Ibiden Co (-6%), and Tokyo Electron (-5.7%). SoftBank Group also slipped nearly 4% after soaring almost 14% in the prior session, as investors turned cautious ahead of the investment conglomerate’s earnings release.
On the upside, gains in financial and consumer names helped cushion the broader market. Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ rose 1.5%, Toyota Motor advanced 1.7%, and Fast Retailing climbed 1.8%.
