Buying of AI-related stocks intensified, sending Nikkei 225 futures toward the -1σ level of the Bollinger Bands. Buying led the morning session, with progress on the IPO of US AI developer Anthropic serving as a catalyst, before trading settled into a range toward the close.
The December contract on Nikkei 225 futures settled at ¥63,500, up ¥1,300 from the previous day. It opened at ¥63,180 and rose to ¥63,810 by the middle of the morning session, before profit-taking and short-selling narrowed the gain and kept it in a ¥63,300–¥63,600 range.
Buying spread across the US market, led by semiconductor and AI-related stocks, and similar activity spilled over into the Japanese market amid progress on Anthropic's IPO. The 4 stocks with a major impact on the index, Advantest, SoftBank Group, Tokyo Electron and Ibiden, pushed the Nikkei higher.
After Nikkei 225 futures were bought up to ¥63,810 by the middle of the morning session, profit-taking emerged as they approached the approximately ¥63,900 -1σ level, and trading in the afternoon was centered on a range-bound market. The NT ratio rose to 15.83, and the market's future direction may depend on developments in semiconductor and AI-related stocks that are driving the Nikkei.
In terms of futures market activity, large trades in Nikkei 225 futures were confirmed in on-auction trading, while multiple securities companies also traded actively in TOPIX futures. With Advantest's earnings announcement due from tomorrow onward, earnings trends at Japanese and US technology companies are expected to influence spillover into the futures market.