At the opening of the afternoon session, the Nikkei Stock Average was sharply lower than the previous day and opened shortly afterward at ¥60,538.67. AI-related stocks were sold against the backdrop of the U.S. midterm elections, and the index fell below the low recorded on 29 July to hit its lowest level since May.
At the opening of the afternoon session, the Nikkei Stock Average started at ¥60,538.67, down ¥2,543.19 from the previous trading day. With the Democratic Party reported to be in the lead, related stocks were sold on expectations of tighter regulation of AI data centers.
The Nikkei's midday closing price was ¥60,835.36, down ¥2,246.50 from the previous day. It fell below ¥61,000 for the first time in about 3 months. Selling spread among AI-related stocks, while TOPIX also declined sharply. Trading volume exceeded 1.3 billion shares and trading value exceeded ¥4 trillion.
At 10:10 a.m., the Nikkei Stock Average temporarily fell below ¥62,000, while high-priced AI and semiconductor stocks such as Advantest accelerated their declines. Some market participants said concerns about tighter AI regulation had resurfaced following a Democratic Party victory.
At the opening, the Nikkei Stock Average was trading at ¥62,973.16, down ¥108.70 from the previous day. There was also speculation that investors seeking to assess the vote-counting results of the U.S. midterm elections were prompting position-adjustment selling.