Japan shares fall, affected by the decline of Wall Street and profit taking

Japanese stocks fell on Friday, dragged down by Wall Street’s slump, while investors continued a profit-taking spree after big gains last month.

The Nikkei index fell 0.56 percent to close at 27,665.98 points, and the index fell 1.7 percent during the week. The broader Topix index fell 0.11 percent to 1,944.27 points, and recorded a weekly loss of 1.8 percent.

US stocks fell sharply in the evening, ending the first quarter of the year with its largest quarterly decline in two years, with continuing concerns related to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and its impact on price inflation and the reaction of the US central bank.

The Nikkei also suffered its worst quarterly loss in two years, but the index achieved its largest increase since November 2020 in March, rising 4.88 percent.

The Nikkei fell, dragged down by chip-related shares on Friday, with Tokyo Electron down 2.48 percent and Advantest down 1.76 percent. The share of Fast Retailing, the operator of Uniqlo clothing stores, fell 1.14 percent.

Toshiba’s stock bucked the general trend of shares, jumping 6.45 percent after Bain Capital polled several Toshiba shareholders about a bid for the Japanese giant.