Stocks in Japan Hit 4-week High

The Nikkei 225 Index went up by 422 points or 0.61 percent on Monday to close at 69136 points. The rise was led by Mitsui Kinzoku (7.40%), Fujikura (6.94%) and Furukawa Electric (5.37%). On the downside, the weakerst performers were Trend Micro (-8.60%), Dentsu (-8.26%) and NEC (-7.22%).

The Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.74% to close at 69,220 on Monday, extending last week’s gains after preliminary data showed Japan’s economy expanded less than expected in the second quarter, as weak domestic demand offset robust exports. Still, strong demand related to artificial intelligence continued to support the outlook for Japanese companies deeply integrated into the global semiconductor supply chain. Local stocks also climbed even after JGB yields surged to fresh 30-year highs on bets for an imminent Bank of Japan interest rate hike. Chip and AI-linked stocks mostly advanced, including Kioxia Holdings (15.1%), Advantest (2.5%), Fujikura (7.3%), Tokyo Electron (1.6%) and Furukawa Electric (5.9%). Meanwhile, financial and consumer stocks mostly declined. In corporate news, Nvidia is reportedly planning to invest up to $3 billion in SB Energy, a SoftBank Group subsidiary developing a major data center project in Ohio for OpenAI.

The Nikkei 225 Index gained 432 points or 0.63 percent on Friday to close at 68741 points. Gains were led by Nintendo Co (6.80%), Sony (5.38%) and Furukawa (5.33%). Biggest losers were Isetan Mitsukoshi (-3.92%), DIC (-3.84%) and Toppan (-3.52%).