Nikkei Drops 0.7%, BOJ Interest Rate Hike Speculation Grows

Japan's Nikkei stock market index fell by 0.7% on Monday, closing at 65,528.09.

The decline was driven by AI-related stocks, which were heavily hit, as well as concerns about inflation and tensions in the Middle East.

The Bank of Japan is now under scrutiny to see if it will raise interest rates in September.

Japanese tech stocks were mixed, with some big names such as Fujikura, Advantest, and SoftBank Group falling between 3.9% and 5.3%, while Tokyo Electron managed a small gain.

The AI sector was also affected globally, with Samsung Electronics falling 9% in South Korea and Alibaba sliding 10.5% in China.