TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average snapped a five-session winning run on Friday, tracking Wall Street’s plunge overnight as investors braced for key US inflation data that will guide the Federal Reserve’s policy tightening path.
The Nikkei fell 1.49% to 27,824.29, slipping below the key psychological level of 28,000 and retreating from a near five-month peak of 28,389.75 hit on Thursday.
But the benchmark rose 0.23% this week in its fourth straight weekly gain.
The broader Topix dropped 1.32% to 1,943.09, but rose 0.51% for the week.
Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq slumped 2.74% and the S&P 500 eased 2.38%.
The market is expecting strong May consumer price data, which would back the case for aggressive Federal Reserve policy tightening even at the risk of choking economic growth.
Japanese investors worried the CPI data would send US stocks lower and that they would not be able to react until markets in Tokyo reopen on Monday, said a market participant with a domestic securities company.
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A market participant from another Japanese securities firm said it’s a day when nerves were elevated.
Growth shares including technology firms lagged, with the Topix’s growth index sliding 1.73%, versus a 0.95% drop for the value index.
Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest slumped 4.2% and chip-making equipment giant Tokyo Electron dropped 3.22%.
Uniqlo store operator Fast Retailing and tech investor SoftBank Group skidded 0.93% and 2.01%, respectively.
All the 33 industry sub-indexes on the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell, with machinery makers shedding 2.14% to become the worst sector.
Of the Nikkei’s 225 component stocks, 189 fell versus 34 that rose.
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