The Nikkei remained soft in afternoon trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, with bank stocks moving lower. TSMC is scheduled to announce its monthly sales in the afternoon, which is expected to affect market trends.
In the Tokyo stock market on the afternoon of the 8th, the Nikkei Stock Average was holding around ¥69,400 as of 14:00, trading approximately ¥500 below the previous day. Market participants pointed to profit-taking-related selling by regional financial institutions at the start of the fiscal period, and the Nikkei's recovery was considered sluggish.
Bank stocks also fell against a backdrop of lower long-term interest rates, while AI and semiconductor-related stocks such as SoftBank Group and Tokyo Electron also traded lower. Meanwhile, リクルート, コナミグループ and Honda were reported to be rising in the market.
TSMC, a major semiconductor manufacturer, was scheduled to announce its monthly sales at 14:00, and market participants were reported to be broadly refraining from active trading as they sought to assess the figures. As of 14:00, trading value on the TSE Prime Market was approximately ¥4.8545 trillion, while trading volume was approximately 1.35525 billion shares.