Nikkei ends at 1.5-month low on concern over AI development slowdown
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The Nikkei stock index ended at its lowest level in a month and a half as remarks by top executives of major U.S. artificial intellig
The Nikkei stock index reached its lowest level in over a month and a half, as CEO comments from leading U.S. artificial intelligence firms sparked worries the industry's advancement might decelerate, leading to the sale of AI-related and semiconductor-related shares. The 225-share Nikkei Stock Average slipped 518.35 points, or 0.81%, to 63,492.99, marking its lowest point since July 30.
The broader Topix index climbed 29.91 points, or 0.74%, to 4,058.21. Declining shares on the Prime Market were predominantly in nonferrous metals and information and communication sectors, while service and insurance stocks saw significant gains. The U.S. dollar appreciated to the lower 154 yen range in Tokyo, driven by predictions of a potential Federal Reserve rate increase at its meeting beginning Tuesday.
However, concerns that the Bank of Japan would expedite its own rate hikes persisted, putting downward pressure on the U.S. currency, according to market analysts. The Nikkei briefly declined around 2% in the early hours as investors offloaded AI and chip shares following remarks from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Amodei urged on his website for a slower pace of AI development across the industry, while Altman suggested he was also contemplating a reduction in development efforts. Masahiro Yamaguchi, head of investment research at SMBC Trust Bank, expressed uncertainty about whether the companies would indeed slow development, noting that some had even expressed concerns that doing so could enable China to surpass U.S. firms.
He stated that the worry over a development slowdown had not yet fully materialized in share prices. Yamaguchi added that a modest adjustment could occur, but he did not anticipate a significant drop in stock prices, as the slowdown in demand would not necessarily halt its expansion. Among the AI-related decliners, SoftBank Group suffered a sharp drop after a report stated that OpenAI CEO, a major investor in the Japanese firm, said the U.S. company would not go public this year.
SoftBank Group's shares fell 10.7% to 5,839 yen. Meanwhile, financial institutions and other banking-related issues gained as investors anticipated further rate hikes by the Bank of Japan, which could boost their profits, contributing to the overall increase in the broader Topix index.
Written by urgent.news from The Mainichi's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
