Japan's Nikkei falls as AI doubts, bond stress weigh

Business Recorder reported that Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped sharply on Friday, with the index down 1.06 per cent at 68,308.92 in early trading. The benchmark was on course for a small weekly loss, while the broader Topix eased 0.24 per cent to 4,081.62.

Investor sentiment was weighed by doubts about the AI sector and by a sell-off in global bonds. Following a Financial Times report that OpenAI's annualised revenue was $20 billion lower than earlier signalled, US technology stocks fell overnight, and euro zone borrowing costs stayed high after an oil price surge fed inflation.

Household spending in August fell 3.1 per cent on a year-on-year basis, while the Bank of Japan flagged cost-led price gains reaching consumer goods and a real possibility of more rate increases this year. Among shares, SoftBank Group, an OpenAI investor, dropped 5.40 per cent, while Nomura Research Institute gained 5.13 per cent.