The Nikkei 225 ended almost flat at 37,754 while the broader Topix index edged up 0.05% to 2,741 on Friday, with Japanese shares struggling to gain traction as weak economic data weighed on sentiment. Investor caution prevailed after Japan's economy contracted 0.2% quarter-on-quarter in Q1, marking its first decline in a year and missing expectations for a 0.1% decline.
The data reinforced concerns raised by the Bank of Japan earlier this week, which warned of a potential economic moderation due to U.S. trade policy pressures. The Japanese market also mirrored losses in U.S. technology stocks, which were hit by profit-taking overnight. Domestic technology names were broadly weaker, with Disco and Advantest down 1.9%, and Tokyo Electron down 2.8%. However, certain non-tech stocks provided some support. Mitsubishi UFJ rose 0.9%, Mitsubishi Heavy rose 3.1%, and Sanrio jumped 7.4%. (Newsmaker23)
Source: Trading Economics
Japanese stocks closed slightly lower on Thursday, as trading resumed after a holiday. Investors remained cautious after a senior Japanese currency official emphasized that the government remains vigi...
Japanese stocks have hit record highs again in recent days, driven by political optimism following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's landslide victory and expectations of a more aggressive economic agen...
The Nikkei closed at another record high, continuing its rally after hitting an all time high in the previous session. This increase was driven by market optimism regarding the policy direction of Jap...
Japanese stocks rose sharply in Tokyo after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's victory in Sunday's election fueled expectations of increased government spending. This optimism immediately lifted the Nikk...
Japanese stocks closed the week in the green after a Reuters survey signaled the Japanese economy is likely to return to growth in the fourth quarter of 2025. This optimism is supported by solid corpo...
Oil prices stabilized on Thursday (February 12th), as the market reassigned a risk premium to US-Iran tensions despite US inventory data showing swelling domestic supplies. This movement confirms one thing: geopolitical headlines are still more...
Gold prices weakened slightly on Thursday (February 12th), as more solid US employment data reduced market confidence in an imminent Federal Reserve interest rate cut. The strong employment data prompted market participants to shift expectations of...
The Hang Seng Index reversed its downward trend in Hong Kong on Thursday (February 12th), weakening by around 0.9% to around 27,000 after a strong session earlier. This decline halted the momentum of the short term rally, as investors began to...