Global Market Watch | Foreign investors dump Japanese stocks on Iran war jitters

Foreign investors were heavy sellers of Japanese stocks in the week through March 14, driven by worries about the economic fallout from a prolonged Iran war and sharply higher energy prices.

Foreigners sold about 1.77 trillion yen ($11.09 billion) worth of Japanese ‌stocks in ⁠their ⁠biggest weekly net sales since September 13, 2025, and snapping an 11-week buying streak, data from Japan's Ministry of Finance showed.

The Nikkei sank nearly 3% on Thursday as Iran, in a major escalation in its war with the U.S. and Israel, attacked several energy facilities across ⁠the Middle ‌East, following a strike on its South Pars gas field on Wednesday.


The Bank of ⁠Japan, keeping interest rates unchanged earlier in the day, warned of the impact rising oil costs from the Middle East conflict could have on underlying inflation.

Overseas investors bought a net 1.19 trillion yen of Japanese long-term bonds last week, reversing the prior week's net sales of 963.6 billion yen.

They ‌remained net sellers of short-term Japanese bonds for a second consecutive week, offloading 952.6 billion yen.

At the same time, ⁠Japanese investors bought a net 950.7 billion yen of foreign equities, their biggest net investment for a week since early May 2025.

However, they sold about 992 billion yen worth of foreign long-term bonds and 262.9 billion yen worth of short-term instruments, marking their fourth weekly net sales in the last five weeks. ($1 = 159.6400 yen)