Japan’s Nikkei share average increased by over 2 percent, reaching a three-month peak on Monday, propelled by AI-related stocks, in the wake of last week’s gains on Wall Street. The Nikkei increased by 2.53 percent, reaching 70,037.61, marking its highest point since early July, as observed by the midday break. The broader Topix rose 1.16 percent to 4,138.57. “Investors scooped up AI-related stocks, but the market sentiment is muted compared with earlier this year when the Nikkei hit a record high,” said Mamoru Shimode. “The AI rally will continue, but the markets will be more selective.” US stocks experienced an uptick on Friday, following the release of weaker-than-anticipated jobs data, which tempered expectations for an interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve during its upcoming policy meeting this month.
On Monday in Japan, Advantest and Tokyo Electron, both linked to the chip sector, experienced increases of 4.5 percent and 5.7 percent, respectively, contributing significantly to the gains in the Nikkei. Technology investor SoftBank Group experienced an increase of 3.68 percent. Memory maker Kioxia experienced a modest increase of 0.49 percent. The shares trade nearly 50 percent below the record high set in mid-June. “Investors probably tried to buy Kioxia shares on the rise, but at the same time others who have losses in the shares sold stocks on a rally, which is why their gains are limited,” Shimode said.
Bank shares experienced an uptick, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group increasing by 0.99 percent and Mizuho Financial Group rising by 1.86 percent, respectively. The Topix growth share index increased by 1.46 percent, whereas the value share index saw a rise of 0.89 percent. Among the over 1,500 stocks listed on the prime market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, 53 percent experienced an increase, 42 percent saw a decline, and 3 percent remained unchanged.
