The Nikkei 225 Index Closes 1.69% Lower

The Nikkei 225 Index climbed 0.71% to close at 61,867 on Thursday, snapping a two-session losing streak as semiconductor shares rallied after Advantest issued a stronger-than-expected profit outlook. Shares of the chip-testing equipment maker jumped more than 10% after lifting its annual operating profit forecast by 35%, supported by robust demand driven by artificial intelligence spending. The rally spread across other technology and AI-related companies, including Kioxia Holdings (2.7%), Tokyo Electron (4.3%), Murata Manufacturing (2.3%), Ibiden Co (1.2%), and Hitachi (6.1%). Meanwhile, SoftBank Group declined 2.7% after its subsidiary Arm Holdings dropped nearly 6% in after-hours trading on a sales forecast that fell short of investor expectations. Financial and consumer-related stocks also lagged the broader market, with losses from Mitsubishi UFJ (-3.5%), Toyota Motor (-2.7%), and Fast Retailing (-2.5%).

The Nikkei 225 Index went up by 517 points or 0.84 percent on Thursday to close at 61952 points. The rise was led by Advantest (11.15%), NEC (8.19%) and Hitachi (5.85%). On the downside, the weakerst performers were Sumitomo Mitsui (-75.70%), Nomura (-6.55%) and Nikon Corporation (-5.72%).

Technology-heavy indexes in Japan and South Korea advanced on Thursday as the selloff in semiconductor shares showed signs of easing, while investors also welcomed the Federal Reserve’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged. Samsung Electronics surged nearly 7% after reporting a more than 250-fold jump in profit, fueled by booming demand for artificial intelligence memory chips. SK Hynix also reversed earlier losses to trade more than 2% higher. Meanwhile, Chinese equities remained under pressure as investors awaited updates from the Politburo meeting in Beijing, where policymakers are expected to refrain from announcing major new stimulus measures and instead focus on implementing existing fiscal policies to support the slowing economy.