The Nikkei 225 Index Closes 3.53% Higher

The Nikkei 225 Index fell 1.5% to below 65,300 on Thursday, reversing the previous session’s gains as weakness on Wall Street weighed on sentiment and chip and artificial intelligence-related stocks retreated. The declines came despite a further drop in oil prices after Iran and Oman reached an agreement on the partial reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns over inflation and the outlook for interest rates. Japanese companies tied to the global AI infrastructure boom posted steep losses, including Kioxia Holdings (-10.7%), Taiyo Yuden (-9.8%), Murata Manufacturing (-5.7%), Ibiden Co (-6%), and Tokyo Electron (-5.7%). SoftBank Group also fell nearly 4% after surging almost 14% in the previous session, as investors awaited the investment giant’s earnings report. Meanwhile, gains in financial and consumer stocks helped limit broader losses, with Mitsubishi UFJ (1.5%), Toyota Motor (1.7%), and Fast Retailing (1.8%) all moving higher.

The Nikkei 225 Index rose 2260 points or 3.53 percent on Wednesday to close at 66217 points. Leading the gains are Yamaha Motor (19.36%), Softbank (13.20%) and Mitsui Kinzoku (10.94%).

Asian equity markets advanced on Wednesday, tracking a rally on Wall Street overnight that lifted the Dow and S&P 500 to fresh record highs, supported by robust corporate earnings and a sharp drop in oil prices. Investors weighed reports of an imminent interim agreement between the US and Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a development that could ease inflation concerns and reduce expectations for near-term Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. Technology-heavy markets in Japan and South Korea led regional gains, with the Nikkei 225 and KOSPI Composite both surging more than 3%. Among individual stocks, Japanese tech-investing giant SoftBank Group soared more than 10%, while South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix climbed 6%.