The Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.99% to close at 68,309 on Friday, snapping a two-day winning streak as investors took profits and turned more cautious about interest rate prospects and geopolitical risks. Global markets remained under pressure from a broad-based bond selloff, although concerns over France’s fiscal and political situation bolstered safe-haven demand for Japanese government bonds.
Geopolitical tensions also intensified after reports that the US is considering deploying an additional aircraft carrier and 10,000 troops to the Middle East.
On the domestic front, data showed 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 corporate news, SoftBank Group announced it had 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. SoftBank shares fell nearly 6% following the update.
Despite Friday’s pullback, the Nikkei rose 2.93% over the week, securing a third consecutive weekly gain.
