Tokyo Stocks Head Down for 3rd Day in a Row amid Worries over More U.S. Rate Hikes

Jiji Press

10:29 JST, July 7, 2023

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Tokyo stocks lost further ground Thursday as renewed concerns over possible additional U.S. interest rate hikes dampened investor sentiment.

The Nikkei average of 225 selected issues listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime section sank 565.68 points to finish at 32,773.02. The broader TOPIX index ended down 28.95 points at 2,277.08.

Both indexes finished lower for the third consecutive day.

Japanese stocks tracked the U.S. market, which fell Wednesday as minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy-setting meeting for June, released the same day, made some investors wary that more rate increases are likely this year.

Semiconductor-linked and other growth names especially succumbed to selling after their U.S. peers were battered by fears of additional rate hikes.

Tokyo stocks expanded their losses in the afternoon on the weakness of the Hong Kong and other Asian markets.

On the Prime section, decliners overwhelmed gainers 1,477 to 318, while 40 issues were flat.