Japan's Nikkei 225 dived 3%

Japan's Nikkei 225 was the notable outlier, extending losses for an eighth straight day to 37,667.41, down 0.53%. The Topix lost 0.38% to close at 2,699.54, its lowest since April 26.

Key points:

1. Tokyo's headline inflation eased slightly to 2.2% in July, down from 2.3% in May. Meanwhile, the core inflation rate, which excludes fresh food prices, remained steady at 2.2%, aligning with expectations.

2. The U.S. personal core expenditure index for June, the Federal Reserve's favored measure of inflation, is scheduled for release late Friday.

Chipmaker Renesas Electronics dropped for a second consecutive day, plunging more than 5% on Friday and leading the index’s losses. This decline brought its share price to its lowest point since April.

Renesas reported a 29% decrease in net profit for the first half of the year. According to Nikkei, President Hidetoshi Shibata admitted that the company "misjudged demand for industrial equipment." Unlike most Japanese companies, Renesas' financial year begins on January 1.

The sell-off on Thursday wiped out 760 billion yen ($4.9 billion) from its market capitalization in just one day.

Several Japanese automakers also experienced losses

Nissan fell 3.88% after disclosing poor results for the first quarter ending June 30, with operating profit plummeting over 99% year-on-year and net profit dropping 72.9%.

Reuters reported that Honda plans to close one factory in China and halt production at another as it shifts focus to producing more electric vehicles. Honda's shares fell by 0.28% on Friday.

Japan's second-quarter GDP

Japan's second-quarter GDP came in at 2.9% on an annualized basis, less than the 3.2% expected by economists polled by Reuters and the advance figure of 3.1%. The Cabinet Office's revised data showed, versus economists' median forecast for a 3.2% growth and a 3.1% rise in the preliminary estimate.

Japan's economy grew at a slightly slower rate than initially reported in the second quarter, impacted by downward revisions in both corporate and household spending. These adjustments suggest a more challenging second half for consumption and could affect the central bank's plans for rate hikes.

The Bank of Japan is focused on seeing steady improvements in domestic demand as it prepares to phase out its decade-long monetary stimulus program and consider further interest rate increases in the coming months.

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