Nikkei 225 closes 4.9 percent lower as AI stocks sell off
Published on 10/15/2026 at 13:02 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWSRates and chip selling
- The Nikkei 225 closed at 64,425 points on October 15, down 3,318 points or 4.9 percent.
- US September inflation and AI debt concerns drove the selloff on October 15.
- Advantest plunged 15 percent as chip stocks led the losses.
- Japan's securities-contracts data are due October 16 at 8:50 a.m. JST.
The Nikkei 225 closed at 64,425 points on October 15, down 3,318 points or 4.9 percent. The drop followed hotter US inflation and fresh concern about debt financing for artificial-intelligence companies, Jiji Press reported.
Advantest plunged 15 percent, making it the session's most prominent decliner, MarketWatch reported.
Why is the Nikkei 225 down today?
The selloff followed a stronger-than-expected US consumer price report, which revived expectations for higher Federal Reserve rates. Concerns over the financial health of US data-center operator CoreWeave added pressure to artificial-intelligence shares, Reuters reported.
Chip-related stocks bore the brunt of the retreat. Lasertec fell 14 percent and Kokusai Electric dropped 13 percent, while Tokyo Electron and Kioxia Holdings also weakened sharply, MarketWatch reported.
Nikkei 225 falls below 65,000
The index fell from the open and reached a session low of 64,092.74 during afternoon trading. The close below 65,000 marked the first such finish in about one month and produced the Nikkei 225's third-largest point loss on record, Jiji Press reported.
The benchmark also remained below its June record of 72,831.73 points. The index was more than 10 percent below that peak, The Japan Times reported.
What comes next for the Nikkei 225
- October 16, 2026, 9:00 a.m. JST: The next Tokyo session begins after the sharp technology-led decline.
- October 16, 2026, 8:50 a.m. JST: Japan releases securities-contracts data for the week of October 4 to October 10, Kabutan reports.
- October 16, 2026, 10:20 a.m. JST: Japan holds a three-month Treasury bill auction, Kabutan reports.
