Japan’s Nikkei index closed lower, posting its biggest weekly decline since June

Japan’s Nikkei closed lower on Friday, posting its biggest weekly drop since mid-June, and chip-related stocks led Friday’s declines, trailing their Wall Street counterparts on Thursday.

Shipping stocks and other economically sensitive stocks also plunged amid fears that the Federal Reserve and other major central banks will continue to tighten monetary policy, which could lead to a recession.

The Nikkei index ended Friday’s trading down 1.03 percent at 26,235.25 points, bringing its weekly decline to 4.69 percent.

The broader Topix index lost 0.54 percent to close at 1,897.94 points, and its weekly decline reached 2.68 percent.

The Nikkei has fallen in six of the last seven trading sessions, pressured by a policy adjustment made by the Bank of Japan on Tuesday and continued concerns about the economic outlook for the United States in particular.

Shares of chip industry giants Tokyo Electron and Advantest were the biggest decliners on the Nikkei index, falling 3.69 percent and 4.49 percent, respectively, after heavy losses incurred by their counterparts in the United States after pessimistic forecasts from Micron Technology.