The Nikkei 225 Index Closes 1.99% Higher

The Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.78% to close at 54,293 on Wednesday, trimming the previous session’s gains as disappointing earnings from select companies weighed on sentiment. Japanese equities also tracked a tech-led selloff on Wall Street, with investors rotating out of richly valued technology stocks and into more cyclical sectors. Nintendo plunged 11% after momentum in its flagship Switch 2 console slowed and the company maintained, rather than upgraded, its annual earnings and hardware forecasts. Electronics maker Ibiden tumbled 14.2% on weak Q3 results, making it the worst performer on the Nikkei. Other notable decliners included Advantest (-2.1%), Lasertec (-7.2%), SoftBank Group (-2.2%), Hitachi (-4.1%), and NEC Corp (-11.8%). On the domestic front, investors remained cautious ahead of this weekend’s snap lower house election, where the ruling LDP is expected to expand its seat count and push forward expansionary fiscal policies under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

The Nikkei 225 Index fell -382 points or 0.70 percent on Wednesday to close at 54339 points. Leading the losses are NEC (-10.93%), Nintendo Co (-10.69%) and Recruit Holdings (-9.58%). Top gainers were NSK (8.94%), Hino Motors (8.02%) and Mitsubishi Electric (7.52%).

The Nikkei 225 Index dropped 1.2% to below 54,100 while the broader Topix Index lost 0.7% to 3,620 on Wednesday, paring gains from the previous session as markets tracked a tech-led selloff on Wall Street. Investor sentiment was weighed by a rotation out of AI-related stocks amid rising concerns over heavy capital spending, with flows shifting toward more cyclical sectors. A newly unveiled AI automation tool from Anthropic also pressured software shares, triggering broad declines in legal and data services companies. Domestically, investors remained cautious ahead of this weekend’s snap lower house election, where the ruling LDP is expected to increase its seat count and advance expansionary fiscal policies under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Among individual stocks, Advantest fell 1.1%, Nintendo plunged 8.7%, Lasertec dropped 7.3%, Disco Corp slipped 1%, and SoftBank Group lost 3%.