With major events such as interim earnings announcements, central bank policy meetings and the U.S. midterm elections approaching, investors in the Tokyo market remained cautious about building medium- to long-term positions. As the afternoon session struggled to extend its gains after the rally paused, semiconductor-related stocks continued to provide support.
The Nikkei Average rose by more than ¥1,000 from the previous day's close at one point, but subsequently struggled to extend its gains, at times falling below the morning-session close. Market participants said investors were finding it difficult to take positions ahead of major events such as interim earnings announcements, policy meetings and the U.S. midterm elections.
At the start of the afternoon session, the Nikkei Average opened higher again, and continued buying of semiconductor-related stocks expanded its gains. Although the Prime Market was generally firm as of the morning close, TOPIX's gain was smaller than that of the Nikkei Average, and more than half of the issues fell at one point.
The morning close was approximately ¥798 higher than the previous day, with semiconductor stocks performing steadily against the backdrop of stronger outlooks for AI-related stocks. There were also observations that the outlook for an Anthropic IPO was strengthening, and stocks such as Advantest, Tokyo Electron and SoftBank Group pushed the Nikkei Average higher.
At the open, the Nikkei Average started approximately ¥471 higher than the previous day, while buying led by semiconductor stocks continued in the afternoon session. Trading volume was approximately 1,042.16 million shares and turnover was approximately ¥3.8287 trillion, indicating subdued activity across the market as a whole.