Tokyo stocks plunge 1,300 points in morning session amid profit-taking and geopolitical concerns

The Nikkei Stock Average plummeted 1,300.30 yen to end the morning session at 67,101.83 on Thursday, marking a sharp retreat from the previous session. Morning turnover on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Prime Market reached approximately 1.07 billion shares, with a trading value of around 5.23 trillion yen. Declining issues heavily outnumbered gainers on the Prime Market, with 1,128 stocks falling, 392 rising, and 42 remaining unchanged.

Tokyo shares faced heavy profit-taking pressure in the morning session following the previous day's sharp gains. Although geopolitical uncertainties persisted as the United States and Iran intensified military actions, news emerged Thursday morning in Japan that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to a ceasefire. Against this backdrop, WTI crude futures, which briefly dipped below 90 dollars per barrel, rebounded to the 90 dollars level, reviving inflation worries and fueling risk-off sentiment. Conversely, some semiconductor names remained resilient, supported by overnight gains in their U.S. peers.

Among individual names, SoftBank Group Corp. <9984> tumbled, while Kioxia Holdings <285A> also traded heavily. Murata Manufacturing Co.,Ltd. <6981>, TAIYO YUDEN CO., LTD. <6976>, Fujikura Ltd. <5803>, Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. <5801>, and IBIDEN CO.,LTD. <4062> all finished lower. Nintendo Co., Ltd. <7974> and Panasonic Holdings Corporation <6752> also slid, while SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation <9412> fell sharply. In contrast, Tokyo Electron Limited <8035>, ADVANTEST CORPORATION <6857>, and DISCO CORPORATION <6146> held firm. FAST RETAILING CO., LTD. <9983> also displayed solid gains, while EDION Corporation <2730> surged.

Source: MINKABU PRESS

*Translated by generative AI. Click here for the original article.