6999.JP▲
Nikkei Average Plunges Sharply in Morning Session, Briefly Falls Over 3% on Middle East and Tariff Concerns
In the Tokyo stock market morning session, the Nikkei average plunged sharply, ending at 64,568.75 yen, down 2.79% from the previous business day. In addition to the previous day's decline in U.S. stocks, uncertainty over the Middle East situation and new tariffs set to be imposed by the Trump administration on the 24th weighed on sentiment, with the index briefly falling 3.14% to 64,334.29 yen. U.S. WTI crude oil futures traded in the 91-dollar range, and amid a global risk-off mood, the TOPIX ended the morning session down 1.01% at 4,012.79 points, while trading value on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market reached 4.336145 trillion yen. Among major stocks, SoftBank Group fell over 7% and Kioxia Holdings dropped over 9%, while Chugai Pharmaceutical rose over 3%. On the individual front, Disco, which announced earnings the previous day, topped the decliners list with a drop of over 14%, while KOA, which announced upward revisions and a dividend increase, surged over 10% to rank second on the gainers list.