The Nikkei 225 fell 0.6% toward 50,300, while the Topix declined 0.5% to 3,372 on Thursday, reversing earlier gains as SoftBank Group tracked sharp losses in Oracle. Japanese investing giant SoftBank dropped nearly 7% after US tech firm Oracle plunged over 11% in after-hours trading on a revenue miss and weak profit guidance. The two companies, along with OpenAI, had previously announced plans to develop AI data centers in the US under their Stargate project. Other major names also weakened, including Lasertec, Mitsubishi Heavy, Sanrio, Nintendo and Tokyo Electron, which fell 1.1% to 3.1%. Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve delivered its third cut of 2025 but signaled a more measured easing trajectory for next year. Domestically, stocks faced additional pressure from growing expectations of a Bank of Japan rate hike next week.
