Nikkei 225 Drops to 3-Month Low Ahead of Inflation and Retail Sales Data

Akira Ito
26 Feb, 2025
Tokyo

Benchmark indexes in Tokyo extended losses in the week and in February following declines on Wall Street. 

The Nikkei stock average fell 0.3%, and the TOPIX dropped 0.28% amid growing worries about the state of the U.S. economy and the chaotic White House. 

Investors are gearing up for a series of economic data on Friday and looking for clues about the possible impact on the Bank of Japan's next move. 

Retail sales, industrial production, and Tokyo area inflation are scheduled to be released on Friday. 

Investors are anticipating that consumer price inflation in the Tokyo area is likely to accelerate, driven in large part by the increases in food and fuel prices. 

Retail sales are expected to advance amid rising wages and higher prices contributing to the increase from a year ago.

The Japanese yen advanced to 149.44 against the U.S. dollar, and traders anticipated that the Bank of Japan is more likely to raise interest rates in March following the likely increase in inflation in the Tokyo area. 

 

Japan Indexes and Stocks 

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average decreased 0.3% to 38,142.37, and the broader TOPIX declined 0.3% to 2,716.40. 

Artificial intelligence-linked semiconductor equipment makers declined ahead of the release of quarterly results from Nvidia later today. 

Tokyo Electron decreased 5% to ¥22,945.0, Advantest Corp. jumped 1% to ¥9,070.0, and Disco Corp. fell 4% to ¥41,100.0.

Trading houses were in focus for the second consecutive day, and stocks erased most of the previous session's gains after Warren Buffett-controlled Berkshire Hathaway increased its stake in the sector. 

Marubeni Corp. fell 2.4% to ¥2,400.50, Itochu Corp. decreased 0.9% to ¥6,492.0, Mitsubishi Corp. declined 2.6% to ¥2,521.50, and Sumitomo Corp. eased 2% to ¥3,386.0.