Nikkei 225 futures ended after the close at ¥64,780, opening sharply higher at ¥65,380. Trading continued around ¥65,000, while the sluggish rebound in semiconductor stocks came into focus.
Osaka December Nikkei 225 futures ended at ¥64,780, up ¥380 from the previous day, after opening sharply higher at ¥65,380. The contract then traded in a narrow range around ¥64,920, and although there were periods when the gain narrowed toward the middle of the morning session, it moved again in the ¥64,7xx range in the afternoon session. The balance between bullish and bearish sentiment continued to be contested around ¥65,000.
In the U.S. market, the Nasdaq and SOX declined, while SpaceX's results exceeded market expectations, prompting views that buying interest would return to semiconductor and AI-related stocks. Advantest, Tokyo Electron and SoftBank Group opened with buying leading the way, but their upside was limited, and some investors were reluctant to maintain longer-term long positions.
The NT ratio fell to 15.98x from 16.00x on the 20th. The influence of semiconductor and AI-related stocks, which are driving the Nikkei average, altered overall index momentum, but some unwinding of long positions was seen after the middle of the morning session as semiconductor stocks stalled. The trading range for the lead futures contract centered around the -1σ level.
In terms of trading patterns, transactions by multiple securities firms were observed toward the end of the morning session in Nikkei 225 futures, while buying by several major securities firms stood out in TOPIX futures. Overall, trading continued to be contested around ¥65,000 against a backdrop of a slowing rebound in semiconductor stocks.