The Nikkei Average extended its decline, continuing the trend from the previous day. Selling spread across AI-related stocks, and a report in a British newspaper about OpenAI-related companies weighed on the market.
In morning trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on the 9th, the Nikkei Average extended its decline and ended the morning session at ¥68,512.30, down ¥529.81 from the previous day. Following declines in US technology stocks, selling spread across AI and semiconductor-related stocks with large index contributions. The Nikkei widened its loss to as much as ¥892 in the early session, but losses narrowed after the selling subsided, and the index moved largely around the ¥68,400 level.
The Nikkei opened down ¥393.61 from the previous day at ¥68,648.50, extending its decline, before losses widened. As of 10:15 a.m., it was temporarily down more than ¥800, weighed down by a report in the Financial Times that OpenAI's annualized revenue would be approximately $20 billion below its previous estimate. SoftBank Group, which has invested in OpenAI, was down more than 4% as of the morning close, weighing on the Nikkei by approximately ¥250.
The TOPIX, meanwhile, rose slightly by 1.04 points to 4,092.50. On the TSE Prime Market, advancers accounted for 78% of listed stocks, while decliners accounted for 19%. Trading value was approximately ¥4.064754 trillion. Stocks other than technology shares showed underlying firmness, and buying also spread across domestic-demand stocks at times.
Market attention is gradually shifting to the upcoming release of domestic corporate earnings. As views continue to be adjusted regarding the pace of monetizing AI-related investment, some market participants expect individual companies' earnings trends to influence the market's direction. Yaskawa Electric's earnings are drawing attention, with some saying that strong results could provide support.