Japan’s Nikkei Average Plunges Record 4,451 Points; U.S. Jobs Data Among Factors Weighing on Tokyo Stock Prices

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:49 JST, August 5, 2024

The benchmark Nikkei 225 plunged a record 4,451.28 points on Monday to close at 31,458.42 as Tokyo stocks dropped across the board.

The Nikkei average had already seen a 2,216 point drop on Friday from the previous day. The broader TOPIX stock index was also down 310.45 on Monday to close at 2,227.15.

One of the factors weighing on stock prices was the appreciation of the yen, which temporarily reached the ¥141 range per dollar in the Tokyo foreign exchange market.

The circuit breaker was triggered for TOPIX futures on the Osaka Exchange after sharp price movements that exceeded the limit.

U.S. job data for July fell far short of market expectations, increasing uncertainty over the U.S. economy. This caused all the major stock indexes in the United States to plummet Friday. The Tokyo market picked up this trend Monday, with sell orders coming in immediately after the start of trading for a wide range of stocks that are sensitive to economic trends, especially semiconductor-related stocks.

The dollar dropped further against the yen in Tokyo, and export-related stocks, such as automobiles, fell on speculation that their performance would deteriorate.

Some in the market believe the U.S. Federal Reserve Board will cut interest rates drastically in September at the earliest, to deal with the slowdown in the U.S. economy. In contrast, the Bank of Japan raised its interest rate in July, triggering the market to sell dollars for yen over speculation of a narrowing gap between U.S. and Japanese interest rates.

The Nikkei 225 fell sharply last weekend as investors became increasingly risk-averse out of concern over the weakening U.S. economy. The two-day decline over Thursday and Friday totaled around 3,200 points.