Nikkei index suffers largest weekly loss in 8 months

On Friday, the Japanese Nikkei index recorded its largest weekly loss in eight months, with its decline for the third consecutive session, under pressure from concerns related to the prospects of the Chinese economy and concern about the rise in bond yields.

According to Reuters, the index lost 3.1 percent during the week, which is the largest weekly loss since the week ending December 23. As for Friday’s performance, the index declined by 0.55 percent to close at 31,450.76 points, with its decline for the third consecutive session.

On Friday, the broader Topix index fell 0.70 percent to 2,237.29 points, down 2.8 percent during the week.

“The Japanese market plunged for the same reasons in the past few sessions, which are concerns about the Chinese economy and rising bond yields globally,” said Shoji Hosui, senior analyst at Daiwa Securities. Japanese stocks are easily affected by external factors in the absence of current market-moving incentives

Fast Retailing, which owns the Uniqlo brand, fell 1.15 percent, putting the biggest pressure on Nikkei.

Shares of companies operating major department stores, which usually benefit from an influx of Chinese tourists, fell. J.Frant Retailing fell 4.31 percent, becoming the worst performer on the Nikkei.

Shares of major companies related to the chip industry rose, providing the biggest support for the Nikkei, as Advantest rose 1.54 percent and Tokyo Electron 0.68 percent.