Tokyo stocks end lower

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks ended sharply lower on Wednesday, extending falls on Wall Street as rising US Treasury yields fuelled concerns that interest rates were set to remain higher for longer.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 2.28 percent, or 711.06 points, to 30,526.88, while the broader Topix index slipped 2.49 percent, or 56.58 points, to 2,218.89.

The dollar fetched 149.25 yen, against 148.85 yen in New York late Tuesday, after the greenback briefly rose above 150 yen for the first time in a year.

In mid-afternoon trading in London, the dollar/yen rate hit 150.16, the yen’s weakest since October 2022, before quickly bouncing back.

On Wednesday, Japan’s top currency officials declined to comment on whether the government had intervened to support the yen after its overnight slide.

Nevertheless, the Tokyo market reacted with investors in automakers in particular “spooked by the shift toward the yen’s appreciation,” IwaiCosmo Securities said.

A stronger yen is usually a drag on the Tokyo stock market as it erodes the profitability of Japanese exporters.

The market was also hit by the bond selloff that has sent 10-year US Treasury yields higher, exacerbating fears that interest rates will be higher for longer.

In Japan, long-term bond yields also rose to a 10-year high on Wednesday, hovering above 0.8 percent.

Among major shares in Tokyo, Toyota plunged 4.89 percent to 2,477.5 yen, SoftBank Group dove 2.07 percent to 6,074 yen and Sony Group trimmed 1.22 percent to 12,110 yen.

Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing also gave up 1.93 percent to 31,360 yen.