Japan’s Nikkei index closed at its lowest level in two weeks

Japan’s Nikkei index closed at a two-week low today, Thursday, driven by selling in exporters’ stocks after the yen rose overnight, while heavyweight technology stocks followed the Nasdaq’s decline.

According to Reuters, the Nikkei index fell 1.22 percent to close at 27,472.63 points, the lowest level since March 24. The broader Topix index lost 1.14 percent, recording 1961.28 points.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index and the Nasdaq index ended the session sharply lower on Wednesday night, after a growing wave of weak economic data exacerbated fears that the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) would raise interest rates quickly to push the US economy into recession.

The US dollar settled on Wednesday night near its lowest level in two months, after weak data supported the view that the Federal Reserve will not need to raise interest rates much more, which led to the rise of the yen.

The strong yen is considered a blow to the shares of exporting companies because it puts pressure on the value of profits abroad in yen when companies return them to Japan.

“The yen rose overnight, prompting investors to sell shares of export companies, and chip-related stocks tracked Nasdaq weakness,” said Masahiro Ichikawa, chief market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management.

Chip-making equipment Tokyo Electron fell 4.53 percent

Mazda Motor fell 4.96 percent, becoming the worst performer on the Nikkei index.

Sony Group, which manufactures gaming and audio equipment, fell 2.16 percent.