Nikkei 225 falls 2.12% to 63,290.11 on AI concerns

The Nikkei 225 closed sharply lower on Friday, October 30, 2026, as renewed selling in technology shares spread from Wall Street to Tokyo. The index fell 1,369.36 points, or 2.12%, to 63,290.11, according to Agence France-Presse. The decline followed a 1.10% gain to 64,659.47 in the previous Tokyo session.

AI spending concerns dominate trading

The benchmark briefly fell as much as 3% during the session. Reuters reported that chip-equipment heavyweights Advantest and Tokyo Electron led the retreat as investors reacted to disappointing US technology earnings and heavy cash spending associated with the artificial-intelligence build-out.

Amazon's quarterly results and capital-spending outlook, together with a weak outlook from Intel, added to concerns about the profitability and financing requirements of AI investment. The selling pressure was concentrated in technology and semiconductor-related names, leaving the broader market less exposed than the Nikkei's technology-heavy weighting.

Chip shares bear the brunt

Reuters reported declines of 9.1% for Advantest and 5.6% for Tokyo Electron during its market snapshot. Ibiden fell 15.2%, Lasertec declined 13.8% and SoftBank Group lost 6.7%, while game maker Konami rose 15.3% and Oriental Land gained 6.6%. These individual-stock moves describe the session's trading performance and are not presented as the official index close.

The weakness was not uniform across the 225 constituents: 123 stocks fell, 100 rose and two were unchanged, according to Reuters. The broader Topix declined less sharply, by 1.3% in the Reuters account, pointing to especially heavy pressure on large technology and chip-related components.

BOJ decision adds policy focus

The Bank of Japan kept its short-term policy rate at 1.25% after its two-day meeting. CNBC reported that the decision was approved by an 8-1 vote, with one board member seeking a 25-basis-point increase. The rate hold was widely expected, but the dissent kept attention on the possibility of further policy tightening.

For investors, Friday's move underscored the Nikkei's sensitivity to global technology valuations and expectations for AI-related capital expenditure. The next market signal will come from whether upcoming company results support the demand outlook for chips and equipment. Further coverage is available on the Nikkei 225 topic page.