The Nikkei slipped modestly, with the morning close at ¥66,333.53. Buying led at the open, but the index later erased its gains and moved into negative territory.
The Nikkei Stock Average fell modestly, ending morning trading at ¥66,333.53. Estimated volume was approximately 1,011.34 million shares. Buying led at the open as investors assessed moves in the U.S. market, but buying momentum failed to persist and gains narrowed.
Among individual stocks, SoftBank Group, Advantest, Recruit Holdings, SCREEN, Fujikura, Tokio Marine, Ebara, Daikin, Toyota, HOYA, Itochu, Disco, ROHM, SMC and Bridgestone rose.
Meanwhile, Ibiden, Fast Retailing, Kioxia Holdings, Chugai Pharmaceutical, KDDI, Nitori Holdings, Daiichi Sankyo, Lasertec, Kyocera, Shin-Etsu Chemical, TDK, Toyota Tsusho, Secom, Astellas Pharma and Nexon fell. By sector, insurance, banks and machinery rose, while fabricated metal products, pharmaceuticals and mining declined.
Afternoon trading is expected to see range-bound moves around the morning closing level, and dividend-reinvestment buying could enter on a scale of approximately ¥1.6 trillion. At the same time, market participants are expected to continue closely monitoring developments in the Middle East and interest rates.