The Nikkei Average had risen more than ¥2,000 as of 2 p.m., trading in the ¥68,800 range near its high. Semiconductor stocks including Advantest and Tokyo Electron were firm.
In the Tokyo stock market around midday on the afternoon session on the 1st, the Nikkei Average was more than ¥2,000 higher than the previous day and was trading in the ¥68,800 range near its high. Investor sentiment was supported by earnings information from major U.S. semiconductor companies released in the morning and trends in Asian markets.
In addition to reports of strong earnings and an upbeat outlook from Micron Technology, a major U.S. memory semiconductor manufacturer, market participants cited conditions in the KOSPI market as a factor increasing the weighting of semiconductor stocks, saying that buying was spreading, particularly among semiconductor stocks.
As of 2 p.m., trading value on the TSE Prime Market was approximately ¥5.5789 trillion and trading volume was approximately 1.555 billion shares, indicating active market conditions.
Among individual stocks, FANUC, Shin-Etsu Chemical and Terumo were trading higher, while Mitsubishi UFJ, Idemitsu Kosan and Orix were affected by declines. Gains in semiconductor-related stocks such as Advantest and Tokyo Electron drove the market higher.