FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

Japanese Shares End Lower on Friday as Global Technology Stocks Slip

By

Japanese shares extended their losses in Friday trade, weighed down by the retreat in artificial-intelligence companies' shares globally.

The Nikkei 225 closed 882.57 points or 1.3% lower at 66,588.12.

Investment sentiment in Asia was tepid as semiconductor stocks slumped on Wall Street after Broadcom's AI chip sales guidance fell short of market expectations.

Investors were cautiously optimistic after U.S. President Donald Trump said that ceasefire negotiations are in their "final" stages, though Iran's foreign minister had earlier described the talks as stalled, according to media reports.

On the domestic front, household spending in Japan rose in April as incomes continued to grow, according to government data released Friday. The average monthly consumption expenditures for households with two or more persons stood at 328,969 yen, marking a 1.0% increase in nominal terms and a 0.5% drop in real terms compared with the same month a year earlier.

Japan's average nominal wages, or total cash earnings, also rose 3.5% year on year to 312,425 yen in April, the fastest growth since December 2024.

On the corporate side, T&D Holdings (TYO:8795) plans to acquire up to 12 million common shares, representing 2.50% of outstanding stock, for a maximum total of 30 billion yen.

Meanwhile, Air Water (TYO:4088) declared a year-end dividend of 37.50 yen per share for the fiscal year 2025, matching earlier forecasts and lower than the 43 yen per share paid a year ago.

Related Articles

Asia

Meituan Faces Roadblocks to Profitability Amid Possible Subsidy War Revival, S&P Says

Meituan (HKG:3690) faces a volatile road back to profitability as potential promotional spending spikes from rivals could reignite sector subsidy wars, S&P Global Ratings said in a recent release.The Chinese delivery giant's first-quarter operating margins rebounded to -7% from -21% during the peak of price competition in the third quarter of 2025, the rating agency said.S&P forecasts the company's EBITDA margins will recover to about 3% in 2026, dependent on a positive EBITDA in the second half of the year through highly targeted subsidies.S&P has a negative outlook on the company, saying that aggressive rival promotions could delay positive free cash flow generation beyond 2026.The company is shifting its focus toward higher net gross transaction value over absolute volume while boosting operational efficiency by deploying Tencent Holdings' (HKG:0700) Yuanbao agentic AI.

$HKG:0700$HKG:3690
Asia

Raytron Technology to Cancel Nearly 5 Million Repurchased Shares; Shares Rise 9%

Raytron Technology (SHA:688002) will cancel nearly 5 million shares it repurchased through a share buyback program, according to a Friday bourse filing in Shanghai.The shares were supposed to be allocated for employee stock ownership plans.Upon cancellation, Raytron's shareholding will reduce to 460.8 million shares from 465.7 million shares.Raytron attributed the change in purpose of the repurchased but unused shares to "convey company value and enhance investor confidence."Shares rose 9% during late afternoon trading on Friday.

$SHA:688002
Asia

SEEK Can 'Easily Achieve' Fiscal Year 2026 Yield Growth Guidance, Says Jarden

SEEK (ASX:SEK) could "easily achieve" its low double-digit yield growth guidance for fiscal year 2026 and is expected to grow by 13.5%, according to a Thursday note by Jarden.Jarden has updated its forecast for the fiscal year 2027 Australia-New Zealand business yield growth to 9% from 8.5%, but offset by its downgrade to the fiscal year 2027 volume assumption to negative 2.5% from flat.The research firm believes that the Australian labor market is past its peak, and currently expects the Australian unemployment rate to increase to 4.8% by June 2027, which is currently at 4.5%, resulting in a reduction to its assumption.Jarden maintained a buy rating on Seek and reduced its price target to AU$23.25 from AU$23.50.

$ASX:SEK