Japan’s Nikkei closes down 2.1% at 63,290.11

Chip-equipment shares led Japan’s Nikkei down 2.1% to close at 63,290.11 on 30 October 2026, after an earlier 3% fall. The broader Topix fell 1%.

Tokyo followed overnight losses on Wall Street. Reuters said late earnings from Amazon.com and Intel showed spending that consumed large amounts of cash, sending their shares and those of their peers sharply lower in after-hours trading.

Chip-equipment shares lead the losses

The leading decliners included Advantest, which makes automatic equipment for testing semiconductors, and Tokyo Electron, which makes equipment used to produce those chips.

Maki Sawada, an equities strategist at Nomura Securities, interpreted the losses as a sign that growing concerns about the profitability of SI investments were weighing on share prices.

Losses extended to other chip- and SI-related stocks. Earnings also produced gains: game maker Konami was the Nikkei’s biggest percentage gainer, followed by Oriental Land, the operator of Tokyo Disney Resort.

A smaller decline across the broader market

Among the Nikkei’s 225 stocks, 123 fell, 100 rose and 2 were unchanged.

The benchmarks give companies different influence: the Nikkei uses adjusted share prices, while the Topix uses the market value of shares available for trading, known as free float.

Stocks with higher adjusted share prices have more influence in the Nikkei. On 29 October, Advantest had its largest weight, about 12%, so a sharp fall in that stock could substantially affect the index even while many other shares rose.

Bank of Japan plans faster fund sales from January

Falling crude oil prices amid optimism over Middle East peace talks supported Japanese stocks, Reuters said. Japan depends heavily on imported energy, especially from that region.

The Bank of Japan held interest rates steady and unexpectedly announced faster sales of exchange-traded funds, investment funds traded on stock exchanges. Reuters said the market was largely unmoved by the announcement. The faster sales are due to begin in January.