The Nikkei 225 slid back below ¥70,000 on the 13th, closing the morning session at 67,786.86 as profit-taking in semiconductor names such as Kioxia and Advantest dragged the index down 770.87 points. Renewed U.S.-Iran hostilities and a reported blockade of the Strait of Hormuz pushed crude oil and the dollar-yen higher, adding a fresh risk factor for Tokyo traders.
Tokyo stocks fell on the morning of the 13th, with the Nikkei 225 closing the morning session at 67,786.86, down 770.87 points from the previous weekend. The index had briefly topped the ¥70,000 mark last week, but selling in semiconductor shares spread widely and pushed it back below that psychological level.
Semiconductors lead the retreat
Kioxia Holdings was the biggest drag on the index, followed by Advantest. Selling reached across the chip and electronic-component space, hitting Tokyo Electron, Ibiden, TDK, Taiyo Yuden and Murata Manufacturing, and spread further into factory-automation names such as Fanuc and Yaskawa Electric.
Retail and financial shares provided a floor. Names such as Ryohin Keikaku and Isetan Mitsukoshi were sought after on the back of strong earnings, while banking, securities and mining were among the sectors that rose out of the 33 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The morning drop tracked an opening that started lower before losses deepened.
Middle East risk lifts oil and the yen
The dollar-yen rate traded firmly, moving in a range of ¥161.76 to ¥162.17 per dollar during the morning session in Tokyo. Concerns over the Middle East, following the resumption of hostilities between the U.S. and Iran, drove New York crude oil futures (WTI) higher to the $74-per-barrel level, which weighed on major currencies against the dollar.
The escalation is being treated as a new source of volatility. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard declared a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and the U.S. military said it had completed new strikes against Iran. According to the U.S. military statement: “The Strait of Hormuz is vital to global trade”. For Japan, which imports most of its energy, the chokepoint could sway corporate profits and inflation.
What comes next for Tokyo
Last week the Nikkei 225 topped ¥70,000 before falling sharply, then recovered roughly 1,700 points over the following two sessions. Market participants have suggested that the turbulence was driven mainly by profit-taking near a major milestone rather than by factors that would reshape the real economy. By the full-day close, Trading Economics data put the index down 1.98%, or 1,361 points, at 67,197.
In the afternoon, the index is likely to keep searching for direction as traders weigh domestic earnings, the currency market and developments in the Middle East. For now, profit-taking has capped Tokyo below the level it briefly cleared last week.
Sources: BigGo, TradingView (snippet-based)
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