Semiconductor stocks, led by Advantest, remained firm, and the Nikkei 225 rose for a third straight session, up ¥705 at ¥64,659. With the Bank of Japan’s Monetary Policy Meeting statement due tomorrow, market attention is turning to upcoming catalysts.
Although the Nikkei 225 briefly turned lower around the middle of the morning session, buying regained the upper hand in the afternoon, pushing the index as high as ¥64,831. It ultimately rose ¥705 from the previous day to ¥64,659, extending its advance to a third straight session. TOPIX rebounded, while the TSE Growth 250 fell for the first time in 5 sessions.
Among individual stocks, Advantest rose 6.0% to ¥37,030, extending its sharp gains for a second straight session. The stock was bought after the company announced that current fiscal-year net profit was expected to rise 98% year on year to ¥741.5 billion, exceeding its previous forecast.
Hitachi fell 9.8% to ¥5,071, suffering a sharp decline for the first time in 3 trading sessions. Although current fiscal-year net profit was expected to rise 15% year on year to ¥920 billion, the forecast was below market expectations, prompting selling.
Central Japan Railway rose 1.4% to ¥3,822, rebounding for the first time in 3 trading sessions. Although current fiscal-year net profit was expected to fall 12% year on year to ¥487 billion, the announcement of a higher dividend and a share buyback provided buying support.
Nojima reached ¥1,300, up 7.4%, as buying prevailed on expectations for current fiscal-year operating profit of ¥65 billion, up 12% year on year, announced the same day. Toei Animation, meanwhile, fell 3.2% to ¥2,900, extending its decline to a third straight session. The company announced that current fiscal-year net profit was expected to fall 20% year on year to ¥20 billion, and the forecast being below market expectations weighed on the stock.