The Nikkei 225 rose sharply in the morning session in a rebound from the previous day's sharp drop, but momentum stalled at the ¥66,000 level as trading ended for the morning. The index reached a high of around ¥66,290, but the morning-session close was ¥65,982.49.
The Nikkei 225 ended the morning session up ¥656.07 from the previous day at ¥65,982.49. Rebound buying led the market after the previous day's sharp decline, with the index opening at ¥65,732 and rising to ¥66,145 at 9:20 a.m. and ¥66,290 at 10:05 a.m.
The rebound, however, lost momentum soon afterward. The index was pushed back to ¥65,955 at 10:30 a.m. and at one point fell below the ¥66,000 level, reaching ¥65,970 at 11:00 a.m. The morning session ended around the ¥66,000 mark. The rebound from the previous day was limited to approximately 31%, falling short of a 50% retracement.
Dollar-yen traded around ¥158.42 per dollar, moving toward a stronger yen and weaker dollar compared with around ¥159.14 at the previous day's close. The market expects yen appreciation to potentially weigh on export-related stocks, and afternoon trading will be watched for both the sustainability of the recovery above ¥66,000 and the broader direction of the market.
The Nikkei 225 had closed the previous day down ¥2,134.31 at ¥65,326.42, leaving the gain in the morning session on the 20th at approximately 31% of the preceding decline. The index is expected to make another attempt to recover the ¥66,000 level in the afternoon, with the afternoon's performance relative to the morning session likely to be the focus.