Chip stock weakness spreads, Nikkei briefly falls more than 3,000 points

2026-07-28

Tokyo shares retreat as chip slump drives index briefly below 62,000

Chip stock weakness spreads

On the Tokyo Stock Exchange on the 28th, the Nikkei average fell back. The decline at one point topped 3,000 points, and it also briefly slipped below the 62,000 mark. Selling carried over from the previous day's US market, where chip stocks were heavily sold, and selling dominated in Tokyo as well.

AI-related shares also sold

In addition to semiconductor-related shares such as Advantest and Tokyo Electron, AI-related stocks such as SoftBank Group and Fujikura also fell sharply. Kioxia Holdings was sold down to its lower daily limit, reaching the stop-loss limit level. On the South Korean stock market on the 28th, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at one point fell as much as 10%, underscoring investors' growing risk aversion.

Concerns spread

Hiroyuki Ueno, chief strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management, said: 'With market sentiment weak at present, even a small negative factor is likely to trigger a larger stock-price decline. For the time being, volatile conditions are likely to continue.' The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 26th that US Nvidia is considering providing about $250 billion in loan guarantees for OpenAI's large-scale data center (DC) plan. Concerns about circular investment and deteriorating finances led to broad selling in related stocks.

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