Japanese Stocks Fall As Investors Turn Cautious Ahead of Tech Earnings; Oil Gains
Japanese stocks fell after investors turned cautious ahead of earnings reports from US Big Tech majors, including Alphabet and Tesla, and amid volatility in semiconductor shares.The benchmark Nikkei 225 closed down 116.59 points, or 0.18%, at 66,115.60.Oil prices rose amid fading hopes of US-Iran talks, and fresh threats from Iran-backed Houthis to widen the Middle East conflict fuelled crude supply concerns.On the corporate side, SoftBank (TYO:94340) launched the beta version of its data ecosystem platform, GaranAI, supporting generative artificial intelligence development while protecting the rights of content owners in Japan, according to a Wednesday filing.Also, Mitsubishi Electric (TYO:6503) and Sony Group's (TYO:6758) Sony Semiconductor Solutions agreed to establish Advanced Vision Solutions, a joint venture focused on automation in the manufacturing industry.
