Japanese Stock Exchange Closes in the Red, Nikkei Drops Nearly 3%
Japanese stock markets closed sharply lower on Friday (July 24th). The Nikkei 225 index fell 2.79% at the end of the Tokyo session, dragged down by weakness in the paper and pulp, transportation, and communications sectors.
The greatest pressure came from a number of technology and semiconductor stocks. Disco Corp. was one of the main drags, falling 12.27% to 60,890. Kioxia Holdings also slumped 9.49% to 56,010, while SoftBank Group fell 7.06% to 5,500.
Despite the decline in the main index, several stocks still recorded gains. Shift Inc. rose 8.21% to 807, Toho Co. added 6.48% to 1,446.50, and BayCurrent Consulting gained 4.69% to 6,522.
Overall, selling pressure was quite widespread on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The number of stocks that fell reached 2,197, outnumbering the 1,302 that rose, while 251 stocks closed unchanged. The Nikkei volatility index also rose 6.84% to 34.82, indicating growing market anxiety.
In terms of market impact, the Nikkei's sharp decline indicates investors are reducing exposure to riskier assets, particularly technology and semiconductor stocks. In the commodity market, WTI oil fell to US$90.63 per barrel, Brent weakened to US$99.03, and gold futures fell to US$4,037.90 per troy ounce. Meanwhile, USD/JPY hovered around 163.78, so the yen remains a concern as its weakening could impact Japanese stock sentiment and energy import costs. (asd)
Source: Newsmaker.id
