Japan’s Nikkei ends lower, track Wall St weakness; Fed comments remain in focus

Japan’s Nikkei index ended lower on Thursday, marking a retreat from its near two-month highs, as the benchmark index tracked downbeat performances on Wall Street after investors positioned for a protracted period of high U.S. interest rates, Reuters reported.
The earnings season witnessed a mix of big winners and losers. Materials maker Teijin and Pacific Metals posted gains of about 6% each following upbeat quarterly earnings, while Fujifilm sagged 2.38%.
The Nikkei share average ended 0.08% lower at 27,584.35, but hovered above the 27,500 level it had scaled late-January. At the start of the week, the index hit its highest since mid-December at 27,821.22 amid strong earnings results.
The broader Topix inched up 0.05% to 1,985.00.
All three big U.S. stock indexes dropped overnight, led by the tech-heavy Nasdaq, as a chorus of Fed speakers backed the idea of more hikes and high rates for longer.
The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index dropped 2.2%.
The drop hurt Japanese chip-related stocks as well. Chip-making equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron slumped 2.14% and shaved off 34 points off the Nikkei, making it the biggest drag. Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest was next, subtracting 8.2 index points with a 1.18% slide.
Toyota Motor cut its early losses to edge up 0.18% after posting a surprise 22% rise in third-quarter operating profit.
Of the Nikkei’s 225 components, 111 rose versus 107 that fell, with 7 flat.