Overview

• On August 14 the Nikkei 225 tumbled over 600 yen intraday and ended about 625 yen lower after two days of record highs
• The yen strengthened into the mid-147s per dollar, triggering selling in export-oriented stocks
• Support from eased U.S. tariff uncertainty and solid corporate results remains in place but was overshadowed by profit-taking
• Foreign investors maintained strong buying, netting roughly ¥602.3 billion in Japanese equities during the latest week
• Mixed U.S. CPI readings (2.7% headline, 3.1% core) have kept Fed policy expectations in flux, amplifying sensitivity to currency and rate signals