Around the middle of the afternoon session on the 26th, the Nikkei Average was in the high range of 66,400, up 550 points from the previous day. Buying in AI- and semiconductor-related stocks and financial shares supported the market.
Around the middle of the afternoon session on the 26th, the Nikkei Stock Average was trading about 550 points above the previous day, in the high range of 66,400. The rise in South Korea’s KOSPI bolstered investor sentiment, while buying continued in AI- and semiconductor-related stocks such as Advantest and SoftBank Group. Tokyo Electron and Fujikura, which had fallen in the morning session, also turned higher in the afternoon.
The financial sector was broadly firm, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group rose further in the afternoon. Market participants said that although uncertainty in the external environment remained, positive corporate earnings news was supporting expectations for further gains in Japanese stocks.
Among individual stocks, Chugai Pharmaceutical, Daiichi Sankyo and Tokio Marine Holdings remained at elevated levels. Recruit Holdings extended its gains into the afternoon, while Toyota Tsusho also attracted buying. By contrast, KDDI, Nippon Yusen and Terumo widened their declines in the afternoon. Kawasaki Kisen, Shin-Etsu Chemical and Hitachi Construction Machinery fell.
Off-auction trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange after the morning close, including basket transactions, totaled about ¥7.6 billion. As of 2 p.m., trading value on the TSE Prime Market was about ¥4.7245 trillion, while trading volume was about 1.21935 billion shares.