Japanese Stock Market experiencing significant increase; registered a rise of 2%
Japanese Stocks Surge Despite Global Tech Sell-Off
Japanese technology and financial stocks surged on Tuesday, defying negative cues from Wall Street and broader Asian markets. The Nikkei 225 Index, which tracks the performance of the 225 largest and most liquid Japanese companies, reached all-time highs, touching 42,786.97 earlier in the day.
Despite the strong gains, the initial trading on Tuesday appeared to reflect more localized factors, as suggested by the Nasdaq article on August 19. By Wednesday, however, technology shares, especially chip-related stocks, started to fall sharply due to declines in major Wall Street tech firms like Nvidia, as well as Japan's own chip makers under pressure from export concerns and tariffs.
CyberAgent, Inpex, Honda, Toyota, SoftBank Group, Rakuten, Isetan Mitsukoshi, Disco, Taisei, Mercari, and Screen Holdings were among the companies that surged almost 4 percent or more each on Tuesday. Sharp soared more than 8 percent, while Nippon Express plunged more than 11 percent.
In the tech sector, Tokyo Electron and Advantest added more than 1 percent and over 7 percent, respectively. Lasertec jumped more than 6 percent. Fast Retailing, the operator of Uniqlo, gained almost 4 percent. Fujikura added almost 5 percent.
However, not all stocks performed well. Olympus plunged more than 6 percent, Toppan Holdings tumbled more than 9 percent, and Idemitsu Kosan lost almost 3 percent. Mitsui Mining & Smelting skyrocketed almost 14 percent.
The rise in crude oil prices, which edged higher on Monday, may have also contributed to the positive sentiment in the Japanese market. The increase was due to Russia shrugging off the U.S. deadline to end its war with Ukraine or face sanctions.
The major averages eventually ended the day in negative territory on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 sliding 0.5 percent, 0.3 percent, and 0.3 percent, respectively. The U.S. dollar was trading in the lower 148 yen-range on Tuesday.
As of the time of writing, the Nikkei 225 Index is currently up 2.08 percent, trading at 42,692.31. The gains in the Japanese market seem to be a testament to the resilience of the Japanese economy, despite the global tech sell-off and geopolitical tensions.
In contrast to the global tech sell-off, the finance sector within the Japanese industry showed resilience as some of its notable companies, such as SoftBank Group and Rakuten, surged on Tuesday. Additionally, technology shares, including Tokyo Electron and Advantest, also contributed to the surge in the Nikkei 225 Index, defying the negative cues from Wall Street and broader Asian markets.
