Expectations for AI outweighed concerns over the situation in the Middle East, sending Japan’s Nikkei Average sharply higher. The Nikkei Average closed up 0.43% at 65,549.88, while the TOPIX rose 0.24% to 4,059.87.
The Nikkei Average rose in Tokyo as renewed expectations for AI-related demand outweighed concerns over the situation in the Middle East. The Nikkei 225 recovered from an early decline to close at 65,549.88. The TOPIX also ended at 4,059.87, up 0.24%.
According to a monthly Reuters survey, sentiment among Japan’s major manufacturers reached its highest level since December 2021 in September. The strength of demand for semiconductors and data centers was cited as the backdrop. Although U.S. markets closed lower the previous day, the SE Semiconductor Index rose 1.3%.
Maki Sawada (澤田真紀), a strategist at Nomura Securities, said news of a supply agreement between Verizon and Corning for high-density optical fiber had lifted shares of Japanese cablemakers. Although the yen was strengthening amid expectations of an interest-rate hike at next week’s monetary policy meeting, some market participants said dip-buying could emerge once the initial selling pressure subsided. Among Nikkei 225 constituents, 109 rose and 116 fell.