The Nikkei 225 Index Closes 0.29% Higher

The Nikkei 225 Index gained 191 points or 0.29 percent on Friday to close at 66323 points. Gains were led by Trend Micro (5.32%), Recruit Holdings (4.68%) and Fujitsu (4.34%). Biggest losers were Furukawa Electric (-4.13%), Sumitomo Electric (-3.17%) and Ebara (-2.99%).

The Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.41% to close at 66,405 while the broader Topix Index gained 0.72% to 4,147 on Friday, recovering some losses from the previous session and following a strong lead from Wall Street as Nvidia’s upbeat sales forecast strengthened the outlook for artificial intelligence-driven demand. In Japan, data showed the unemployment rate fell to 2.4% in July, the lowest in a year, while Tokyo’s inflation rate accelerated to a five-month high in August. Among individual stocks, notable gains came from Advantest (1.9%), Taiyo Yuden (3.9%) and Terra Drone (12.4%). In corporate news, Mizuho Bank has launched legal proceedings against Radiant World in Singapore’s Supreme Court over allegations that the iron ore trader provided banks with falsified documents to secure financing. Meanwhile, Toyota Motor’s vehicle sales declined for a sixth consecutive month as rising gasoline prices weighed on demand for non-electric vehicles in China.

The Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.2% to close at 66,132 while the broader Topix Index rose 0.15% to 4,117 on Thursday, with Japanese shares lacking clear direction amid mixed performances across major technology stocks. Investors also responded to Nvidia’s strong sales outlook, which offered fresh evidence that spending on AI infrastructure is likely to remain resilient. Japanese technology companies are deeply involved in the global AI infrastructure buildout, which has been a key driver of the country’s equity rally over the past year. Notably, Nvidia supplier Advantest dropped 3.1%, underperforming the broader technology sector. Meanwhile, Kioxia Holdings surged 5% following reports that it is building a new chipmaking plant in northern Japan, expanding production capacity to meet rising AI-related demand for storage.