TOKYO, JAPAN – FEBRUARY 3: SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son speaks at an event titled “Transforming Business with AI” on February 3, 2025 in Tokyo. SoftBank and OpenAI announced that they have agreed to a partnership to establish a joint venture company for artificial intelligence services in Japan.
Tomohiro Osumi | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Japanese tech stocks fell sharply on Thursday as concerns about Wall Street’s AI infrastructure spending filtered across to Asian markets, sending AI stocks lower.
SoftBank Group Corp. Ranked among the top losers in benchmarks Nikkei Stock Averagedown as much as 7.25%, with Asia leading the decline, with the index falling 1.23%. The group has pared some of its losses and was down 3% in recent trading.
This decline is due to heavy use of high-tech industries. Nasdaq Composite The stock fell 1.81% overnight, dragged down by losses. oracleBroadcom, Nvidia, and other AI plays.
Oracle’s losses came after the Financial Times reported on Wednesday that Blue Owl Capital’s plans to finance the cloud infrastructure company’s $10 billion Michigan data center fell through. Last week, the company refuted a report that AI giant OpenAI would postpone some projects to 2028.
Technology-focused SoftBank’s stock has fluctuated sharply over the past month as concerns about AI spending gripped the market.
Earlier this year, the group unveiled plans to invest $500 billion in U.S. AI infrastructure with OpenAI, Oracle and other partners, and in September announced the opening of five new U.S. AI data center sites under Stargate, OpenAI’s comprehensive AI infrastructure platform.
Other Japanese tech stocks also fell. semiconductor equipment suppliers Advantestwhich fell by 5%. counterpart laser tech, Renesas Electronics and Tokyo Electron It decreased between 3% and 4%.
Jesper Coll, expert director at Tokyo-based financial services firm Monex Group, said much of what is built into data centers, power centers and AI hardware enablers is “Made in Japan, and can only be made in Japan.” That makes Japanese tech stocks, especially those related to AI, more vulnerable to concerns about U.S. tech spending.
Japan’s trade statistics on Wednesday showed electrical machinery exports rose 7.4% year-on-year, while semiconductor-related exports rose 13%. Coll said the US-led high-tech spending boom has led to increased exports of specialized machinery and equipment.
South Korean semiconductor giant Samsung Electronics’ decline was less pronounced at 0.93%, but SK Hynix reversed its decline and rose 0.73%. Taiwan’s TSMCthe world’s largest contract chip maker, fell slightly.
