Japan shares end 5 days of gains

Japan’s Nikkei ended a 5-session winning streak on Friday, tracking Wall Street’s overnight decline as investors awaited key US inflation data that will guide the Fed’s monetary policy tightening path.

The Nikkei index fell 1.49% to 27,824.29 points, falling below the key psychological level of 28000, and retreating from the highest level in almost 5 months at 28,389.75 points, which was recorded on Thursday, June 9. However, the main index rose 0.23% this week, with gains for the fourth consecutive week.

The broader Topix index fell 1.32% to 1943.09 points but rose by 0.51% during the week.

The Nasdaq index fell by 2.74%, and the Standard & Poor’s 500 indexes fell by 2.38%. The market is anticipating strong consumer price data for May, which will support the Fed’s tightening of monetary policy even with the risk of economic growth being stifled.

Shares that are expected to grow at a much higher rate than the market’s growth rate, including technology companies, declined as the Topix index of growth companies fell 1.73%.

Chip test equipment maker Advantest fell 4.2%, and chip maker Tokyo Electron fell 3.22%.

Shares of Fast Retail, operator of the Uniqlo clothing chain, and SoftBank Group for technology investments fell 0.93% and 2.01%, respectively.

All 33 industrial sub-indices fell on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, as the machinery sector index lost 2.14%, becoming the worst-performing sector.

Of the 225 stocks listed on the Nikkei, 189 fell and 34 rose.