Nikkei Plunges 2.7% as Oil Prices Soar, Inflation Fears Grip Markets

The Nikkei 225 plummeted 2.73% on July 24 as renewed fears of inflation gripped markets, fueled by rising oil prices and a weak yen.

Investors were spooked by Alphabet's falling share price despite strong operating results, focusing instead on the company's increasing AI infrastructure budget and potential strain on free cash flow.

The technology sector led the decline, with Advantest dropping 6.02%, Tokyo Electron down 4.99%, and SoftBank Group losing 7.06% due to its large weighting in the index.

Domestic-demand shares, however, showed resilience, with East Japan Railway and West Japan Railway rising nearly 2%, while Central Japan Railway gained 1.62%.