Japan’s stock market witnessed a significant drop last week, plugging up to 7% and nearing bear market territory. This dramatic drop is one of the steepest for the Tokyo Stock Exchange in recent years, driven by fears of global economic slowdown, trade tension between the US and China, and monetary policies.
The Asia-Pacific market continued the sell-off from last week. Meanwhile, investors are waiting for data from China and Taiwan and bank decisions from Australia and India.
The Nikkei 225 index’s sharp decline erased months of gains, impacting major sectors like technology, manufacturing, and finance. Tech giants, such as Sony and SoftBank, saw notable losses, while financial stocks like Mitsubishi, Mitsui and Co, Sumitomo, and Marubeni all plunged around 10%.
At this level, two prominent indexes, Nikkei and Topix, are nearing bear market territory, falling almost 20% from their all-time high in July.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Topix fell more than 5% and 6%, respectively. At this time, Topix marked its worst day in eight years, and Nikkei marked its worst day since Market 2020. In addition, the Japanese currency ‘The Yen’ also strengthened to its highest level against the dollar since January, trading at 144.97.
On the other hand, US stocks fell sharply on Friday and became weaker than anticipated, causing worries that the economy could be entering a recession.
The global stock market is struggling these days. S&P 500 dropped 1.84%, the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.43%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.51%.
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As one of the largest economies in Asia, Japan’s market decline can trigger similar losses in neighbouring markets, raising economic concerns and reducing investors’ confidence across the region. This can lead to decreased capital inflows, disrupted trade relationships, and heightened economic instability throughout Asia.
