Japan’s Nikkei closed at its lowest level in a month

Japan’s Nikkei index closed at its lowest level in more than a month on Friday, tracing sharp declines on Wall Street overnight, as major central bank decisions to raise interest rates stoked fears of an economic slowdown.

The Nikkei closed down by 1.87 percent, recording 27,527.12 points, the lowest closing level since November 10. The index extended its losses and posted its biggest drop in a day since Oct. 11. For the entire week, the index fell 1.3 percent.

The broader Topix index fell 1.2%, recording 1950.21, and fell by 0.5% for the week.

Fast Retailing, owner of Uniqlo clothing, fell 3.51 percent, putting the most pressure on the Nikkei despite the company announcing a stock split.

Chipmaker-related Tokyo Electron fell 4.47 percent, Advantest 3.15 percent, and technology investment group SoftBank fell 3.8 percent.

But Toshiba bucked the trend, rising 2.11% after a report said Japan Industrial Partners, its preferred bidder, would likely be able to secure 1.2 trillion yen ($1.46 billion) in financing from banks to carry out the company’s purchase.