The Nikkei 225 extended its gains in the morning session of the Tokyo market on the 18th. Buying was led by gains in US semiconductor stocks and spread to AI- and semiconductor-related names. A pause in the rise of crude oil prices and long-term interest rates also supported the market.
The Nikkei 225 was up ¥600 from the previous day and trading in the ¥64,700 range at the opening of the morning session on the 18th in the Tokyo stock market, with buying led by AI- and semiconductor-related stocks. Concerns over the US and Middle East situation eased somewhat, while a pause in the rise of crude oil prices also supported the market.
In the previous day's US stock market, the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.69% and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, or SOX, gained 3.14%, while NVIDIA rose 2.54%. Arm Holdings also edged up by nearly 0.0%, with reports that it had expressed confidence in achieving its sales target for AI semiconductors serving as a positive factor.
Buying advanced in semiconductor-related stocks such as Advantest, which supplies advanced semiconductor inspection equipment to NVIDIA, and SBG, which owns Arm. Reports that President Trump had eased concerns over the situation in Iran unsettled the perceived supply risk in the Middle East, and front-month WTI crude futures ended down 0.5%.
Amid persistent expectations of additional interest-rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, the 10-year Treasury yield, a benchmark for long-term US interest rates, ended 0.09 percentage points lower at 4.93%, providing support for the market. The TOPIX, meanwhile, fell.
Some stocks, including Hitachi Chemical, rose, while Fast Retailing and Recruit fell. Kioxia, Ibiden and Kyocera were also reported to have risen.