The Nikkei 225 Index slipped 0.6% to around 68,500 on Friday, snapping a two-day winning streak, as rising oil prices fueled worries that a potential escalation in the US-Iran conflict could further disrupt Middle East energy supplies and reignite inflationary pressures.
Investors also weighed data showing that Tokyo’s core inflation accelerated to 2.7% in September, surpassing the Bank of Japan’s 2% target for the first time in nine months, in part due to higher energy costs.
In corporate news, SoftBank Group announced it has completed the third and final $10 billion tranche of its follow-on investment in OpenAI, bringing its total investment in the AI firm to $64.6 billion and giving it an ownership stake of about 13%.
Among individual movers, notable declines were seen in Kioxia (-2.3%), SoftBank (-3.8%), Taiyo Yuden (-3.3%), Fast Retailing (-1.5%), and Toyota (-1.8%).
Despite Friday’s pullback, the Nikkei remains on track to gain more than 3% for the week, poised for its third consecutive weekly advance.
