The Nikkei 225 narrowed its decline in the afternoon session, closing at ¥69,030, down ¥11 from the previous day. With the market awaiting Yaskawa Electric's earnings release against the backdrop of U.S. market movements, some AI and semiconductor-related stocks also saw short-covering.
In the Tokyo market, the Nikkei 225 fell for a second straight session and traded near its low in the morning session. It opened at ¥68,648, and extended its decline to ¥68,512 at the morning close, but narrowed the decline in the afternoon session to finish at ¥69,030. Semiconductor-related stocks tracking the SOX index attracted market attention.
Among individual stocks, Fast Retailing fell 4.0% to ¥71,780, RORZE rose 15.8% to ¥5,134, TOHO rose 0.8% to ¥1,554.5, Nidec fell 6.1% to ¥2,010, and Weathernews fell 2.4% to ¥1,901, showing mixed price movements. Trading in each stock was driven by factors related to earnings and earnings outlooks.
Looking ahead to next week, market focus is expected to include developments following Yaskawa Electric's earnings release, Delta Air Lines' earnings release and the release of the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index. Earnings announcements from U.S. banks will also follow in succession, and domestic and overseas economic sentiment and capital market conditions are expected to affect the outlook.