Speculative short positions dominated Nikkei 225 futures trading at midday, with movements focused on the area around the 25-day moving average. Semiconductor and AI-related stocks fell notably in response to the trend in the US market, and futures came under increasing downward pressure after the open.
Nikkei 225 futures came under selling pressure during midday trading, falling below ¥68,000 at the cash-market open and at one point declining to ¥67,230 toward the end of the session. Due to the impact of major stocks during the day, four issues, Advantest, Tokyo Electron, SoftBank Group and Kioxia Holdings, pushed down the Nikkei Average by approximately ¥1,400.
In the market, Nikkei futures at one point fell below the +1σ Bollinger Band, and there was speculation that breaking below the weekly +1σ at the cash-market open strengthened the downward bias. In the short term, the 25-day and 75-day moving averages are likely to attract attention as two key levels.
The NT ratio for the lead futures contract fell to 16.46 times. While declines in high-priced stocks with a large impact on the index weighed on the Nikkei Average, the number of advancing TSE Prime issues also increased. Some market participants have voiced concern about a reversal of NT short positions.
Some observers have said that the market may focus on the limited scope for a rebound depending on short pressure in the futures market and movements in cash equities, with another period of strengthening short positions possible.