The Nikkei Average closed the morning session sharply lower, but losses narrowed on futures buying as selling of AI and semiconductor-related stocks intensified. The morning session's moves also spread to individual stocks.
In morning trading on the 19th, the Nikkei Average fell sharply, down approximately ¥790 from the previous day to ¥64,534.03. Estimated morning session trading volume was approximately 917.96 million shares, while estimated trading value was approximately ¥3.2947 trillion. Although decliners outnumbered advancers, the number of advancing stocks recovered to nearly 650, while the TOPIX decline was limited to 0.4%.
The market saw selling centered on AI and semiconductor-related stocks, but losses narrowed toward the latter half of the morning session against a backdrop of buying by overseas institutional investors in Nikkei 225 futures. Moves in the SOX Index also had an impact, with selling particularly pronounced in the semiconductor sector.