Japan’s benchmark Nikkei index suffered a sharp 4% drop on Friday, wiping out most of its gains from a historic, record-shattering run. The reversal was triggered by a steep sell-off in technology heavyweight SoftBank Group, following reports that OpenAI is considering postponing its highly anticipated stock market debut.
The Closing Bell Numbers
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Nikkei 225: Fell 4.15% (down to 69,360.88), shedding its momentum after hitting an all-time record high in the previous session. The index fell 2.65% for the week.
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Topix: Declined 1.32% to close at 3,963.36, capping off a 2% weekly loss.
Key Market Drivers
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SoftBank Slumps: Shares of SoftBank Group plummeted 12.53%. The tech investment giant, which has seen its valuation soar on CEO Masayoshi Son’s massive artificial intelligence bets, bore the brunt of the OpenAI news.
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The OpenAI Ripple Effect: A New York Times report indicating that OpenAI may push its initial public offering (IPO) out to next year sent jitters across the sector. Investors widely view OpenAI as the anchor for global AI sentiment, leaving many to wonder if the broader industry outlook is cooling.
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Collateral Damage in Chips: The news quickly spilled over into Japan’s semiconductor ecosystem. AI-adjacent heavyweights took heavy hits, with chip-testing pioneer Advantest sliding 9.64%, Tokyo Electron dropping 3.21%, and memory manufacturer Kioxia sinking 11.24%.
