Japanese Stocks Rise for Second Session
2025-10-03 00:32
By
Jam Kaimo Samonte
1 min. read
The Nikkei 225 climbed 0.8% to around 45,300 and the broader Topix advanced 0.7% to 3,110 on Friday, as Japanese equities gained for a second straight session, mirroring Wall Street’s advance.
Strength in the artificial intelligence trade outweighed worries over the US government shutdown, pushing US indexes to new highs.
Sentiment was boosted by OpenAI’s $6.6 billion share sale, valuing the company at $500 billion, and news of a major partnership with South Korean chipmakers that reinforced optimism toward the AI sector.
On the domestic front, data showed Japan’s jobless rate rose to 2.6% in August, the highest in 13 months and above expectations of 2.4%.
The outlook for further Bank of Japan rate hikes remains uncertain amid mixed economic indicators and external trade pressures.
Among standout performers were SoftBank Group (+4.4%), Tokyo Electron (+2.1%), Sanrio (+1.5%), Hitachi (+6.3%) and Tokyo Electric Power (+4.1%).