Nikkei falls under pressure of chip stock losses

Japan’s Nikkei average closed lower and remained near a record high on Monday, pressured by falling chip-related stocks following losses in its US counterparts on Friday.

The Nikkei index fell 0.04% to end the day at 38,470.38 points, after rising to 38,865.06 points on Friday. It was 93 points away from the all-time high reached on the last trading day of 1989 at the height of Japan’s bubble economy.

The broader Topix index performed better, rising 0.57%.

The shares of Advantest and Tokyo Electron, heavyweights in the chip sector, caused the largest loss for the Nikkei index, as they fell 60 and 55 points, respectively, equivalent to a decline of 3.2% and 1.6%.

Nintendo was the biggest percentage loser, falling 5.8%.

SoftBank, which focuses on investing in artificial intelligence, bucked the trend and rose 47 points, up 2.8%, after a media report that founder Masayoshi Son is looking to raise up to $100 billion for a chip project.

Shares of banks and other financial companies achieved gains, and rising bond yields boosted their profitability. The banking sector was the best performing stock among 33 industrial groups on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, jumping 2.9%.