Japan’s Nikkei gauge trims 2025 surge as techs take a breather

TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share gauge edged lower on Tuesday, with the technology sector, which helped drive banner gains in equities this year, dragging the index.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index slid 0.1% to 50,465.35, as of the midday break, while the broader Topix was also down 0.1%.

On the final trading day of 2025 in Japan, the Nikkei is poised for a 26% annual jump, a third consecutive yearly gain and the most since 2023.

The Topix is set for a 23% advance.

Wall Street’s main indexes ended lower overnight, as tech stocks retreated from last week’s rally that pushed the S&P 500 to record highs.

The drop in US equities and a slump by domestic artificial intelligence heavyweight SoftBank Group were the main factors dragging Japanese shares lower, said Nomura Securities strategist Wataru Akiyama.

“Rather than a fading of expectations around AI, it appears to be driven by end-of-year adjustment selling amid thin trading,” Akiyama said.

“So we are not overly concerned, given how much share prices have risen this year.”

SoftBank slid 1%, and was the biggest drag on the Nikkei, after the company announced it would buy digital infrastructure investor DigitalBridge Group in a deal valued at $4 billion.

SoftBank shares surged 93% in 2025.

There were 92 advancers on the Nikkei against 126 decliners.

The largest gainers in the index were Fujitsu up 1.9%, followed by Sumitomo Pharma, which gained 1.5%.

The largest losers were Sumitomo Metal Mining, down 3.6%, followed by online retailer Rakuten Group, which slid 2.1%.