The Nikkei 225 briefly recovered to the ¥70,000 range but lost momentum in the second half of the week, while attention is increasingly focused on US interest-rate trends, results from ASML and TSMC, and the IMF's World Economic Outlook.
The Nikkei 225 ended this week at ¥69,030.92, up ¥721.46 from the previous weekend, with the market observing a recovery to the ¥70,000 range for the first time since 6 July. Buying led the market at the start of the week, but concerns over the rapid pace of the rise, movements in long-term interest rates and profit-taking in AI and semiconductor-related stocks restrained gains in the second half. Trends in US technology stocks and the weaker yen provided cues toward the end of the week, but the market ultimately struggled to advance.
In the US market, the Dow was at times up by triple digits, but concerns about long-term interest-rate movements remained. US retail sales, CPI and other indicators are being watched as potential market drivers. Next week, particular attention will be paid to the 10-year Treasury yield. If CPI exceeds market expectations, the risk of higher interest rates could resurface, while some expect an in-line reading to have a positive effect on the market.