Nikkei Closes Lower on Investors Fear

Japan’s Nikkei index fell at the end of trading on Wednesday, after shares of companies that are expected to achieve high growth suffered losses amid investors’ fears that the Federal Reserve may accelerate policy tightening to counter the rising inflation risks.

On Monday, US President Joe Biden re-nominated Jerome Powell for a second four-year term as Fed Chairman, and appointed Elle Brainard to the position of Representative, increasing investor sentiment that the US central bank will lean more towards tightening policies.

The Nikkei index closed down 1.58 percent at 2,9302.66 points, while the broader Topix index fell 1.16 percent to 2019.12 points.

The Internet company Z Holdings fell 4.6 percent, while the medical data platform company M3 lost five percent.

Recruit Holdings fell 4.3 percent, and SoftBank Group, which has significant exposure to global technology stocks, fell 3.3 percent.

On the other hand, the weak yen pushed up auto stocks, while rising US bond yields boosted banking stocks.

Mitsubishi Motors rose 5.1 percent, Nissan Motor Co rose 4.4 percent and Toyota Motor gained 0.9 percent.

In the financial sector, SMFG shares rose 2.1 percent, and Mitsubishi UFJ rose 0.8 percent.