Japan's benchmark stock index Nikkei 225 ended 0.3 percent lower on Friday, posting its biggest weekly loss this month, with the ongoing Middle East uncertainty and a rebound in U.S. bond yields weighing on sentiment.
The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 200.43 points, or 0.30 percent, from Thursday at 66,016.36.
The broader Topix index, meanwhile, finished 7.56 points, or 0.19 percent, higher at 4,067.29.
Stocks came under selling pressure on concerns over oil supplies and inflation amid the rising uncertainty over the Middle East conflict, said Timothy Pope, a market analyst for the China Global Television Network (CGTN).
"In Tokyo, the Nikkei had a really bad week. It ended today 0.3 percent lower but is down around 4 percent for the week. It's its worst week this month and it was hit hard by the mid-week tech sell-off, and then worries about the U.S.-Iran war situation made everything worse after oil jumped overnight in response to a threat of more U.S. sanctions against Iran. Seventy percent of Japanese oil comes through the Strait of Hormuz, so we saw that was a cause for inflation worries, sending bond yields higher. And it became a vicious circle -- those bond yields also make bonds more attractive than potentially over-valued AI supply chain stocks. And the latest economic data really only reinforced that picture with exports and imports both hitting record highs because of rising oil prices. And that makes one big thing -- Japan is also importing at the moment inflation," said Pope.
Japan's Nikkei ends lower Friday, suffering biggest weekly loss this month: analyst
