Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index fell 697.87 points, or 1.21 percent, to close at 56,941.97 on Friday, marking back-to-back sessions of decline and erasing more than 700 points overall. The index traded in a range between 56,652.48 and 57,407.25 during the session.
The decline followed a mixed performance on Wall Street, where major averages opened lower but recovered before ultimately ending with little change. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 48.93 points, or 0.10 percent, to finish at 49,500.93. The NASDAQ Composite slipped 50.43 points, or 0.22 percent, to close at 22,546.67, while the S&P 500 added 3.41 points, or 0.05 percent, to end at 6,836.17.
For the week, the NASDAQ fell 2.1 percent, the S&P 500 dropped 1.4 percent, and the Dow declined 1.2 percent, according to market data.
Friday’s trading followed the release of the U.S. Labor Department’s January consumer price inflation report, which showed a slightly smaller-than-expected monthly increase and a slower annual growth rate. The data prompted some renewed optimism regarding potential interest rate adjustments and contributed to a decline in Treasury yields.
Within the Nikkei 225, Nissan Motor saw a significant jump, skyrocketing 8.76 percent, while Mazda Motor accelerated 3.65 percent and Toyota Motor jumped 1.86 percent. Conversely, several major companies experienced substantial losses. Softbank Group plummeted 8.86 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial tanked 2.66 percent, and Mizuho Financial tumbled 2.36 percent. Further declines were seen with Mitsubishi Electric, down 3.97 percent, Sony Group, down 1.47 percent, Panasonic Holdings, down 4.87 percent, and Hitachi, which crashed 6.57 percent.
Crude oil prices edged slightly higher on Friday, with West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery up $0.06, or 0.1 percent, at $62.90 a barrel, recovering some ground after a steep drop the previous day following a revised demand forecast from the International Energy Agency.
Asian stock markets are expected to see little movement on Monday, as many markets are closed for the Lunar Recent Year holiday. Concerns surrounding artificial intelligence are also impacting market sentiment, according to reports.
Recent investor activity indicates a shift in sentiment towards Japanese equities. Chinese investors have reportedly lost US$55 million in Japan ETFs as Tokyo ties reach a new low, signaling a potential cooling of investment from China into Japanese markets.
