Nikkei 225 Average Down 5% and KOSPI Dropped 6% Amid Global Rout In Tech Stocks

Akira Ito
08 Jun, 2026
Toronto

Japan's indexes fell sharply in Monday's trading, mirroring losses in technology stocks in Friday's trading in New York. 

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped about 5%, and the TOPIX declined 2.7% as the global weakness in tech stocks weighed on the market sentiment. 

Japan's market indexes declined sharply on Monday, following the losses experienced on Wall Street the previous Friday.

Wall Street indexes plunged on Friday after the U.S. economy added more-than-expected jobs in May, raising the prospects that higher-for-longer interest rates could weigh on the economy and AI investment. 

The U.S. economy added about 172,000 net new jobs in May, the jobless rate held at 4.3%, and the annual wage growth eased to 3.4% from 3.6% in the previous month, according to the latest update released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for March was revised up by 29,000, from 185,000 to 214,000, and the change for April was revised up by 64,000, from 115,000 to 179,000. 

With these revisions, employment in March and April combined is 93,000 higher than previously reported, the BLS report noted. 

Japan's economy grew at an annual rate of 0.6% in the first quarter, up from 0.2% in the fourth quarter, in line with the preliminary data released by the Cabinet Office. 

GDP expanded 0.5% from the previous quarter, matching the preliminary estimate and accelerating from the 0.2% increase in the fourth quarter of 2025, driven by a pickup in private consumption and easing cost pressures and steady wage growth.

Brent crude oil soared 4% to $97.46 a barrel amid renewed hostilities in the Middle East, and Israel and Iran exchanged aerial attacks and missile and drone strikes. 

 

Japan Indexes and Stocks 

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 4.5% to 63,585.45, and the TOPIX fell 3.2% to 3,823.89. 

Semiconductor- and AI-linked stocks led the decliners in Tokyo in Monday's trading. 

Renesas Electronics dropped 6%, SoftBank Group fell 9%, Advantest Corp. eased 5%, and Tokyo Electron decreased 6%.