Japan's Indexes Faced Headwinds Amid Rate Uncertainty and Downward Pressure On Yen

Akira Ito
25 Aug, 2026
Tokyo

Japan's indexes struggled to stay above the flatline, tracking losses in tech stocks in overnight trading in New York. 

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average increased 0.1%, the broader TOPIX edged up 0.3%, and the yen weakened to 159.37 against the U.S. dollar. 

Benchmark indexes dropped as much as 0.9% in the morning session following sharp losses in tech stocks in New York ahead of the release of quarterly results from Nvidia Corp. on Wednesday. 

The weakness in artificial intelligence infrastructure was compounded by growing skepticism that the U.S.-Japan joint intervention would provide critical support to the embattled yen. 

The yen has lost more than half of its gains against the U.S. dollar in the past two weeks, after the U.S. and Japan jointly intervened in late July to revive the yen from a four-decade low of 163.45. 

Global bond yields remained under pressure for the second consecutive week as investors worried that the elevated U.S. federal debt is likely to continue to grow at an elevated pace and that high energy prices are likely to support growing inflationary pressures. 

The yield on a 10-year Japanese government bond traded at 2.9%, hovering near multi-decade highs amid growing expectations that the Bank of Japan is set to raise rates in the imminent future. 

 

Japan Indexes and Stocks 

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average increased 0.1% to 65,598.68, and the broader TOPIX added 0.3% to 4,086.73. 

Semiconductor-linked stocks led decliners in Tokyo, tracking sharp losses in overnight trading in New York. 

Kioxia Holdings declined 0..6% to ¥50,530.0, Tokyo Electron increased 0.6% to ¥55,470.0, Advantest Corp. fell 1.6% to ¥33,940.0, and Taiyo Yuden Corp. fell 0.7% to ¥9,108.0. 

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group increased 1.2% to ¥3,522.0, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group advanced 0.6% to ¥6,631.0, and Mizuho Financial Group gained 1.2% to ¥8,204.0. 

Nippon Yusen KK added 0.4% to ¥7,233.0, Mitsui OSK Lines advanced 0.8% to ¥7,325.0, and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. increased 0.2% to ¥3,473.0.