The Nikkei average opened the afternoon session at ¥64,753.48, up ¥539.00 from the previous day. Information and communications stocks and other sectors rose, while marine transportation and pharmaceuticals declined. SoftBank Group, Taiyo Yuden, and Kioxia Holdings were among the key stocks in focus.
The afternoon session opened at nearly the same level as the morning close, with the Nikkei average starting at ¥64,753.48, up ¥539.00 from the previous day. During the morning session, buying was restrained ahead of the release of the US employment report, while some observers said that lower domestic long-term interest rates were providing support for buying.
By sector, information and communications, nonferrous metals, and securities and commodity futures ranked among the top gainers, while marine transportation, pharmaceuticals, and wholesale trade recorded the steepest declines. Among the most actively traded stocks on the TSE Prime Market, SoftBank Group, Taiyo Yuden, Kioxia Holdings, Furukawa Electric, Murata Manufacturing, SUMCO, Fujitsu, NEC, Fujikura, and FANUC traded near their highs.
Meanwhile, the laggards included Mitsui & Co., Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Mitsubishi Corporation, Takeda Pharmaceutical, NYK Line, Marubeni, Lasertec, JT, Japan Post Bank, and KOKUSAI ELECTRIC, with investors remaining cautious. Some market participants said they wanted to assess the upcoming US employment report, while domestic market information indicated that interest-rate trends were supporting buying.