Tokyo equities closed lower on Friday as weakness across several sectors pushed the Nikkei 225 down 2.79% at the end of the trading session. Sectoral pressure came primarily from Paper & Pulp, Transport and Communication names, which contributed to the broad pullback.
The Nikkei 225 ended the day at 64,572.00, a decline of 1,850.60 points, representing a 2.79% drop. Market breadth on the Tokyo Stock Exchange showed more falling issues than advancing ones, with 2,197 stocks lower, 1,302 higher and 251 unchanged.
Among the best performers on the Nikkei 225 were:
- Shift Inc (TYO:3697) - rose 8.21%, up 61.20 points to close at 807.00.
- Toho Co., Ltd. (TYO:9602) - gained 6.48%, adding 88.00 points to finish at 1,446.50.
- BayCurrent Consulting Inc (TYO:6532) - increased 4.69%, or 292.00 points, to end at 6,522.00.
The session's heaviest decliners included:
- Disco Corp (TYO:6146) - tumbled 12.27%, a fall of 8,520.00 points to close at 60,890.00.
- Kioxia Holdings Corp (TYO:285A) - dropped 9.49%, down 5,870.00 points to finish at 56,010.00.
- SoftBank Group Corp. (TYO:9984) - fell 7.06%, losing 418.00 points to end the session at 5,500.00.
Volatility measures also moved higher: the Nikkei Volatility index, which reflects implied volatility in Nikkei 225 options, rose 6.84% to 34.82.
Commodities trading showed declines in energy and precious metals prices on the day. Crude oil for September delivery decreased 1.69%, or $1.56, to $90.63 a barrel. Brent oil for September delivery fell 1.65%, down $1.66 to $99.03 a barrel. The August gold futures contract slipped 0.30%, or $12.30, to trade at $4,037.90 a troy ounce.
Currency moves were modest: USD/JPY was down 0.04% at 163.78, while EUR/JPY inched up 0.03% to 186.49. Separately, US Dollar Index Futures were quoted down 0.08% at 101.20.
Taken together, the session reflected broad selling pressure across multiple sectors in Tokyo, with pronounced moves among certain large-cap names and a notable uptick in options-implied volatility. Commodity and currency shifts accompanied the equity weakness, contributing to the overall risk-off tone in late trade.