Japan’s Nikkei plunges nearly 5% amid tech stock sell-off

[Financial News] Japan’s stock market fell sharply on the 15th amid concentrated selling of technology stocks.
The Nikkei 225 plunged 3,318.34 points (4.90%) from the previous trading day to close at 64,425.95. The index, which slid as low as 64,092.74 at one point during the afternoon session, closed in the 64,000 range for the first time since the 17th of last month.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s TOPIX index fell 97.44 points (2.38%) to finish at 3,999.34. It closed below the 4,000 mark for the first time since August 4.
Both benchmark indexes opened lower and continued to fall throughout the session. Selling of technology stocks persisted amid a sharp drop in CoreWeave’s corporate bond prices on the New York stock market and mounting inflation concerns.
SoftBank Group Corp. (SBG) shares plunged nearly 10%, while Advantest plunged nearly 15%. Kioxia and Tokyo Electron fell 13% and at least 8%, respectively, while Ibiden and Taiyo Yuden dropped more than 12% and more than 10%, respectively.
IwaiCosmo Securities chief strategist Kazuaki Shimada noted, “It led to a ‘risk-off’ trend, with investors avoiding risky assets.” A wave of profit-taking was also cited as a contributing factor.
[email protected] Lee Seok-woo, International Affairs Correspondent Reporter