The Nikkei 225 Index dropped more than 3% to fall below 64,500 on Monday, while the broader Topix Index declined 2.2% to 3,862, marking a third straight session of losses for Japanese equities. The selloff tracked Friday’s sharp decline on Wall Street, where semiconductor and other technology stocks came under heavy pressure.
Stronger-than-expected US employment data further strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates later this year, pushing Treasury yields higher and adding to the downward pressure on global equity markets.
At the same time, geopolitical risks escalated after Iran launched multiple missile salvos toward Israel as a warning against further military action in Lebanon, undermining confidence in an already fragile ceasefire and dimming prospects for progress in stalled peace talks.
Japanese chipmakers and other technology names led the decline, with notable falls in Kioxia Holdings (-8%), Renesas Electronics (-5.6%), SoftBank Group (-9.3%), Advantest (-5.1%) and Tokyo Electron (-6.1%).
