Shares sink in Japan following tech-driven retreat on Wall Street

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index sank 5.8% on Friday in what some reports said was the worst single-day loss since Black Monday of 1987.

The drop of more than 2,000 points to its close at 35,909.70 left the index near where it was in January, erasing huge gains that had taken the Nikkei index past the 40,000 level as enthusiasm for artificial intelligence drove shares in computer chipmakers and other related companies sharply higher.

The Nikkei had hit an all-time high of 42,224.02 on July 11.

October 19 1987 was dubbed Black Monday after shares plunged worldwide, with the Tokyo index dropping 3,836.48, or nearly 15%, and other world markets sinking far more.

Investors dumped shares in the belief that prices were too high.

Then, Japan’s markets recovered relatively quickly because the country was still in the midst of a financial bubble that would take the Nikkei to nearly 39,000 before it collapsed in early 1990.

The Nikkei did not recover that earlier peak of 38,915.87 until earlier this year.

Friday’s decline in Japan and in other world markets followed a retreat on Wall Street after weak data raised worries the Federal Reserve may have missed its window to cut interest rates before it undercuts economic growth.

Analysts said traders also were selling Japanese shares to position themselves to buy US equities.

“I think markets globally are having a headless chicken moment,” the financial outlet Nikkei Asia cited Nicholas Smith of analyst CLSA as saying.

Japanese shares have been pummelled after the Bank of Japan raised its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday, to a modest 0.25% from 0.1%.

As expected, the yen has since jumped against the dollar, potentially hurting manufacturers’ earnings and deflating a tourism boom.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc plunged 12%. Toyota Motor Corp’s shares fell 4.2%, Sony Group Corp’s shares lost 6.7% and SoftBank Group Corp declined 8%.

Chip maker Tokyo Electron dived 12% and chip equipment maker Lasertec Corp lost 10.8%.

Early Friday, the yen was trading at 149.07, up from 149.37 late Thursday.