The Nikkei average extended its gains, rising to ¥68,355.81 in morning trading. Buying concentrated in semiconductor stocks on the back of Micron Technology's positive earnings results. Some market participants did not view the overall market tone in afternoon trading in Osaka as strong.
In the Tokyo stock market, the Nikkei average expanded its gains after opening and ended morning trading at ¥68,355.81, up ¥1,602.09 from the previous day. It remained more than approximately 5% below its record closing high of ¥72,366.34 set on 25 June. The average opened at ¥67,106.52, above its most recent recovery high.
Among individual stocks, Tokyo Electron, Advantest and SoftBank Group remained firm, while bank stocks including Toyota Motor and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group opened weakly.
The catalyst for buying was Micron Technology's earnings release. Fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter revenue and GAAP net income both reached record highs at $54.229 billion and $37.701 billion, respectively. Growth in data-center revenue was particularly pronounced and drove increases across all business segments.
For the full-year outlook, revenue is expected to reach a record $133.188 billion, approximately 3.6 times the previous fiscal year's level, while net income is expected to reach a record $84.969 billion, approximately 10 times higher. Some market participants expect funds to remain concentrated in selected AI- and semiconductor-related stocks.