Japan Shares Fall Due to The Decline in The Technology Sector

Japanese shares fell on Friday, dragged down by losses in the technology sector, after the Nasdaq index fell 1 percent in the evening, on fears related to inflation and higher interest rates, which undermined the appetite for risk.

The Nikkei index closed down 0.9 percent to 27,522.26 points, after dropping more than 2 percent earlier in the session.

The broader Topix index fell 0.59 percent to 1927.18 points.

The Nikkei lost 2.1 percent during the week, the biggest loss in seven weeks, while the Topix index fell 2.5 percent, in its worst performance in eight weeks.

Chip-related stocks topped the losses, with Tokyo Electron down 6.2%, while Advantest fell 3.98 percent.

Toyota Motor shares fell 2.48 percent after the car manufacturer said it would slow production at 11 factories in Japan due to an increase in Covid-19 infections among workers in those factories and in auto parts suppliers.

Despite expectations of broader restrictions on travel due to a large and rapid increase in infections, aviation and railway stocks were among the highest gainers among the sub-indices. The aviation sector index rose 3.84 percent, while the railways index rose 1.54 percent.

ANA Holdinger shares jumped 3.73 percent, while Casey Electric shares jumped 3.48 percent.