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Japan Equities Slide Amid Rising Middle East Tensions

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-- Japanese shares closed lower on Friday as escalating Middle East tensions stoked concerns over energy supplies and weighed on investor sentiment.

The Nikkei 225 fell 0.19%, or 120.19 points, to close at 62,713.65.

U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran of stronger military action if it failed to quickly reach a deal, while saying the ceasefire remained in place.

Global equities have gained in recent weeks on optimism that AI-related spending will support corporate earnings, while investors also monitored U.S. efforts to ease tensions with Iran in hopes of containing energy prices and sustaining risk appetite.

On the domestic front, Japan's real wages rose 1% in March from a year earlier, while nominal wages gained 1.6% and overtime pay increased 1.9%, government data showed Friday.

Japan's services sector growth slowed to an 11-month low in April as weaker demand and rising costs pushed companies to raise prices sharply, complicating the Bank of Japan's policy outlook ahead of a possible rate increase.

In corporate news, Infroneer (TYO:5076) rose 5% after lowering the conversion price for its 2029 zero-coupon green convertible bonds following approval of a 90 yen-per-share dividend.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (TYO:8306) fell 2% after saying it will partner with Google to develop AI-based retail financial services. Meanwhile, SoftBank Group (TYO:9984) dropped 5% amid plans to develop and manufacture AI servers domestically with support from Nvidia and Foxconn (TPE:2317).

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