Nikkei ends at month-low, pressured by fears of economic ‎slowdown

Japan’s Nikkei index closed at its lowest level in more than a month today, Friday, tracing sharp declines on Wall Street overnight, as decisions by major central banks to raise interest rates stoked fears of an economic slowdown.

According to Reuters, the Nikkei closed down by 1.87 percent, recording 27,527.12 points, the lowest closing level since November 10. The index extended its losses and recorded the largest drop in a day since October 11. For the entire week, the index fell 1.3 percent

The broader Topix index fell 1.2 percent, recording 1950.21, and fell by 0.5 percent for the week.

Fast Retailing, owner of Uniqlo clothing, fell 3.51 percent, putting the most pressure on Nikkei despite the company announcing a stock split.

Chipmaker-related Tokyo Electron fell 4.47 percent, Advantest 3.15 percent, and technology investment group SoftBank Group fell 3.8 percent.

But Toshiba bucked the trend and rose 2.11 percent after a report said Japan Industrial Partners, its preferred bidder, would likely be able to secure 1.2 trillion yen ($1.46 billion) in financing from banks to carry out the company’s purchase.