Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average Falls Back from Record as Yen Rallies, Tech Shares Retreat

Reuters

13:01 JST, January 15, 2026

TOKYO, Jan 15 (Reuters) – Japan’s Nikkei share average fell back from a record high on Thursday, as the yen’s rebound weighed on exporters and a red-hot rally in technology shares lost steam.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index .N225 slid 1% to 53,820.46 by the midday break, snapping a three-day surge that took the gauge to an all-time high on Wednesday. The broader Topix .TOPX was more buoyant, rising 0.4%.

U.S. stocks finished lower overnight, led by a drop in the tech-heavy Nasdaq gauge.

The yen recovered from a 1-1/2-year low after fresh warnings from Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama against “excessive” moves and a U.S. Treasury statement calling for “sound” policy from the Bank of Japan to contend with currency volatility.

“Given the recent streak of consecutive record highs, the Japanese stock market is likely to see subdued movement today unless new catalysts emerge,” said Wataru Akiyama, an equities strategist at Nomura Securities. “Export-related stocks are broadly lower due to recent yen appreciation.”

There were 137 advancers on the Nikkei against 84 decliners. The largest losers in the index were software services provider Shift 3697.T, down 7.6%, followed by artificial intelligence sector heavyweights SoftBank Group 9984.T and Advantest6857.T, which lost more than 4.5% each.

The largest gainers in the index were retailer Ryohin Keikaku 7453.T, up 10%, followed by consulting services provider BayCurrent 6532.T, which jumped 5.1%.

In the broader market, Toyota Industries 6201.T surged 5.9% after Toyota Motor 7203.T agreed to raise its offer to take the forklift maker private.

Saizeriya 7581.T jumped 5.8%, touching an all-time high after the Italian restaurant chain reported record profit for the September to November quarter.