TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average fell for a third session to a one-month low on Wednesday, as investors sold risk assets amid an intensifying Middle East conflict.
The Nikkei slid 3.61 percent to 54,245.54, its lowest since February 6, marking the biggest daily decline in 11 months. The index wiped out all gains since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s landslide victory in the national election on February 8.
The broader Topix lost 3.67 percent to 3,633.67.
Both the Nikkei and Topix rose to record highs last month as investors bet that Takaichi’s stimulus measures would drive growth in corporate profits. Demand for materials needed for artificial-intelligence technology had also supported the fast-paced rally which is now unwinding.
“Investors who bought Japanese stocks after Takaichi’s decisive win at the election dumped the shares in the latest sessions,” said Hiroyuki Ueno, chief strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management.
Ueno sees the 52,000 mark, a level the index traded at in late January before Takaichi announced the snap election, as a defensive line for the Nikkei.
“The index may keep slipping once it falls below that level,” he said.
Comments