The Nikkei Average initially received support from a rebound following the morning session, but then fell into negative territory. The opening level was firm following the previous day's decline in U.S. stocks, but selling prevailed in the afternoon and profit-taking ahead of a rebound continued toward the close.
The Nikkei Average ended the morning session at ¥66,164.19, with estimated volume of 974.67 million shares. In the previous day's U.S. stock market, the Dow fell $113.52 and the Nasdaq declined 21.10 points. With the PCE data indicating persistent inflation, concerns about higher interest rates spread after the opening, and the market remained soft throughout the day. Ahead of earnings announcements from major semiconductor companies, the market maintained a downward trend throughout the session.
On the 27th, the Nikkei Average opened the morning session ¥513.62 higher at ¥66,775.78. Although buying initially remained concentrated in selected areas, it weakened against the backdrop of moves in the U.S. market. Ahead of the weekend's key events and amid inflation concerns following the PCE data, position-adjustment selling emerged and the index turned negative toward the end of the morning session. It subsequently traded around the morning close.
Among individual stocks, gainers included Kioxia Holdings, Fujikura, TDK, Ibiden, Tokyo Electron, Murata Manufacturing, SCREEN Holdings, Kyocera, BayCurrent, Olympus, Sumitomo Electric, Trend Micro, Nitori Holdings, Furukawa Electric and FANUC. Decliners included Advantest, Fast Retailing, SoftBank Group, Chugai Pharmaceutical, Yamaha Motor, KDDI, Sumitomo Metal Mining, HOYA, Disco, Konami Group, Bandai Namco Holdings, Astellas Pharma, Nissan Chemical, Nintendo and Shionogi. By sector, nonferrous metals, mining and electric appliances advanced, while marine transportation, other products and pharmaceuticals declined. The afternoon session is expected to see range-bound trading around the morning close, and some market participants believe selling ahead of a rebound is likely until the index breaks above the 75-day moving average near ¥66,400. With a speech by the Federal Reserve chair at the Jackson Hole symposium scheduled for the 28th, interest-rate trends are expected to be the market's focus.