2025.12.1800:51:44UTC+00Japanese Shares Fall as Tech Drags

The Nikkei 225 Index experienced a 1% decline, approaching 49,000, while the broader Topix Index dropped 0.4% to 3,355 on Thursday. This continued the downward trend seen this week and aligned with the selloff on Wall Street, which was spurred by concerns over high valuations and significant investments in AI. The latest drop was further intensified by news that Blue Owl Capital, Oracle's main investor, retracted funding from a major data center project, dampening technology sentiment globally. Domestically, investors exercised caution ahead of the Bank of Japan's forthcoming two-day policy meeting, where it is largely anticipated that the central bank will increase its policy rate by 25 basis points to 0.75%. Shares in the technology and AI sectors led the decline, with notable decreases in SoftBank Group (-3.7%), Fujikura (-3.1%), Advantest (-3.2%), Lasertec (-2.9%), and Tokyo Electron (-2.6%). In corporate developments, the CEO of Sumitomo Mitsui expressed confidence that the bank would achieve a significant profit milestone sooner than anticipated, benefitting from its strategic alliance with Jefferies Financial.