Japan’s Nikkei Index Suffers Brutal Weekly Bloodbath Driven by Tech Panic

The Worst Crash Since 2020

The global financial markets are bleeding heavily, and Asia is taking the hardest hit. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index just dropped a staggering 9.3 percent this week. This marks the absolute worst weekly performance for the Japanese market since the pandemic-induced panic of March 2020. The massive crash was heavily weighed down by a brutal technology sell-off that completely wiped out billions in corporate valuations.

US AI Policies Spook Investors

The panic started on Wall Street and violently spilled over into Tokyo. Investors are terrified over the potential impacts of strict new US policies regarding artificial intelligence development. On Friday alone, the Nikkei index plummeted 6 percent to close at 57,434.77 points—its steepest single-day decline since April 2025. The sell-off was merciless, with 222 of the 225 constituent stocks retreating in the red. The broader TOPIX index also shed 5.9 percent, proving that this financial contagion is infecting every single market sector.

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