Against a backdrop of gains in U.S. stocks the previous day, the Nikkei Average briefly fell after opening, but buying spread after selling subsided, and the index remained firm toward the close, ending trading in the ¥66,262 range.
Although U.S. stocks generally rose the previous day, selling led the Nikkei Average immediately after the open. Profit-taking in semiconductor-related stocks and caution ahead of Nvidia's earnings in the U.S. created a sense of unease, but selling subsided as lower crude oil futures and declining U.S. long-term interest rates provided reassurance.
As investors continued to assess overseas factors, the market recovered into positive territory around the middle of the morning session. In the afternoon session, the index briefly rose to around ¥66,400. It closed sharply higher day on day, with the Nikkei Average ending at ¥66,262.16.
Trading volume on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Prime Market was approximately 1.8535 billion shares, while trading value was approximately ¥6.7057 trillion. By sector, securities, services and insurance advanced, while marine transportation, oil and coal products, and metal products declined. Gainers accounted for approximately 63% of all issues, while decliners accounted for approximately 33%.
Among individual stocks, SoftBank Group, Advantest, Daiichi Sankyo, Sumitomo Metal Mining, FUJIFILM, Murata Manufacturing and Astellas Pharma rose. Fast Retailing, TDK, Lasertec, Shin-Etsu Chemical, HOYA and Honda declined.