The Nikkei Average fell sharply amid a lack of supportive factors. It closed down ¥1,889 at ¥64,325, after briefly falling by nearly ¥2,000 during the session. The decline was reportedly driven by rising long-term interest rates and concerns over the situation in the Middle East.
The Nikkei Average fell sharply amid growing expectations that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates. The Tokyo market remained weak from the opening, and the decline widened further in the afternoon.
Long-term interest rates have risen into the 3% range, while heightened concerns over the situation in the Middle East affected market sentiment and drove up crude oil futures prices. Market participants said the market should be assessed on the assumption that the situation in the Middle East will be prolonged and that high interest rates will persist.
The move was reported by ANN, the distributing news source, and reports carried via Yahoo! News cited similar factors. Reactions are expected to be tested for reproducibility depending on developments going forward.
Without including statements intended to encourage investment decisions, the current facts can be summarized as follows: rising long-term interest rates and concerns over the situation in the Middle East have been cited as factors putting downward pressure on the market.