Nikkei falls 2.40% to one-month low as yen rises against dollar
Key Facts
Japan's Nikkei index fell 2.40% at the close on Thursday, October 22, 2026, hitting a one-month low, according to Investing's report on the Japanese market. The index's decline coincided with the yen strengthening against the dollar, in a session marked by falling Japanese equities and a weaker U.S. currency. The dollar fell 0.63% to 157.13 yen, according to the same report. The move means the Japanese currency gained value against its U.S. counterpart. In the technology sector, Investing's report on Asian markets on Thursday said Lam Research shares fell 7.4%. The stock declined after the company issued weaker-than-expected earnings guidance, adding corporate results and forecasts to the backdrop for technology stock trading.
Wall Street's gains on Wednesday, October 21, preceded the selloff, according to a Reuters report on Asian markets carried by Investing. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.05% in that session to close at 26,702.86 points. Asian markets had suffered a sharp technology selloff the previous week, during which Reuters reported that the Nikkei fell about 5% on October 15. In the context of those earlier losses, a report published by Investing on Sunday, October 18, citing Bloomberg, said Goldman Sachs' basket of Asian AI hardware stocks lost 11% in the week before publication. Portfolio manager Jian Shi Cortesi discussed financing risks facing infrastructure projects, warning that "higher financing costs could delay infrastructure projects." Cortesi linked that possibility to a reassessment of Asian suppliers' earnings and valuations, in a warning focused on the impact of project delays on related companies.
The reassessment of AI-related investment positions extended to BlackRock's outlook for U.S. equities, according to Reuters in a report carried by Investing. The firm downgraded its outlook for those stocks to neutral, citing potential volatility associated with the expansion of AI infrastructure. The firm described its concern as "potential volatility around the expansion of AI infrastructure," referring to the risks surrounding that expansion. In Japan, central bank Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino signaled his readiness to raise borrowing costs, according to a Reuters report published on Thursday. His remarks come as the Bank of Japan's existing policy targets an uncollateralized overnight borrowing rate of around 1.25%, according to the bank.
On prices, Japan's consumer price index rose 2.1% year on year in September 2026, according to Japan's Statistics Bureau. The reading measures the change in consumer prices compared with the same month a year earlier. The bureau's official schedule set Friday, October 23, as the release date for September's data, placing the reading after Thursday's session, when stocks and the dollar fell against the yen. The next monetary policy event is the Bank of Japan's meeting scheduled for October 29 and 30, according to the central bank's calendar. The meeting follows the release of September's reading, while October's inflation data are due later, on November 20, according to the Statistics Bureau's schedule.