The Nikkei 225 Index Closes 0.81% Higher

The Nikkei 225 Index rose 1.1% to above 68,000 while the broader Topix Index climbed 1% to 4,180 on Thursday, with the latter hitting fresh record highs as subdued US inflation data eased pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in the near term. Markets now see around a 40% chance of a 25 basis point rate hike from the Fed in September, down from nearly 50% a day earlier. In Japan, producer prices rose 7.2% in July, easing slightly from 7.3% in June and coming in below forecasts of 7.4%. Technology and artificial intelligence-related stocks led the advance, with strong gains for Kioxia Holdings (6.2%), Taiyo Yuden (8.6%), Advantest (5.3%), Ibiden Co (7.3%) and Murata Manufacturing (7.4%). Bank stocks also performed well, including Mitsubishi UFJ (1.6%) and Mizuho Financial (1.7%).

The Nikkei 225 Index rose 545 points or 0.81 percent on Wednesday to close at 67515 points. Leading the gains are Furukawa Electric (6.58%), Resonac Holdings (6.40%) and M3 (6.27%). Top losers were Rakuten (-13.22%), Nitori Holdings (-4.44%) and Sumitomo Metal Mining (-4.07%).

Asian equity markets mostly advanced on Wednesday, led by a more than 4% surge in South Korea’s KOSPI Composite Index as SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics rallied following reports that Singaporean state-owned investment firm Temasek Holdings plans to acquire stakes in the two companies. Sentiment was further supported by upbeat outlooks from CoreWeave and Super Micro Computer, as both companies continue to benefit from the ongoing artificial intelligence spending boom. Technology-heavy benchmarks in Japan and China also climbed, while shares in Australia and Hong Kong lagged. On the geopolitical front, investors assessed the prospects of a US-Iran deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz after Pakistan’s defense minister said Washington and Tehran are “close to some sort of arrangement.”