The Tokyo Stock Exchange recorded its biggest drop in nearly four months on Monday, partly due to an announcement by a Federal Reserve official.
He said that the US central bank could raise interest rates earlier than expected if inflation remains high in the US.
Indeed, the Fed was currently planning to raise interest rates in 2023, but it could do so as early as next year. According to St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, the move to a faster tightening of US monetary policy is a “natural” response to economic growth.
“Growing concerns about a possible reversal in US monetary policy have dampened investor sentiment” , Yoshihiro Okumura of Chibagin Asset Management told AFP.
In detail, the Nikkei stock fell 3.29% to end at 28,010.93 points (-953.15 points), making its biggest drop since February 26 and reaching its lowest level in a month. The broader Topix slid 2.42% to 1,899.45 points, also posting its biggest drop in four months.
“The Japanese market is overreacting. First of all, rate hikes are signs of an economic recovery” , commented Shuji Hosoi, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities.
Chip-related stocks also dragged the Nikkei down, with Tokyo Electron losing 4.02%, Advantest down 4.49% and Shin-Etsu Chemical down 5.74%.
Also, SoftBank Group, highly sensitive to Wall Street events, lost 3.51% to 7,559 yen after the Wall Street Journal reported that Chief Executive Masayoshi Son has dissolved his long-standing personal loans with Credit Suisse.
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