The Nikkei 225 ended 898.34 points higher at ¥65,324.29 on the 16th. After opening, it held near the day's highs, with buying strongest in AI- and semiconductor-related stocks.
Japanese stocks rose sharply on the 16th, with the Nikkei 225 ending 898.34 points higher at ¥65,324.29. The index opened at ¥64,925, its low for the day, before rising as high as ¥65,689.
Buying dominated the morning session, with the index ending the morning at ¥65,597. In the afternoon, it opened at ¥65,421 and at one point reached a high of ¥65,712, but gains were capped toward the close and it finished at ¥65,324. By sector, electrical appliances, information and communications, and services performed well, while retail declined. Among large-cap stocks, Ibiden, Lasertec, Kioxia Holdings, Daiichi Sankyo, and Hitachi rose, while Fast Retailing and Fujikura fell.
Investor sentiment was supported by gains in South Korean stocks and a rebound in AI- and semiconductor-related stocks. Finance Minister Katayama also said Japan would work with the US Treasury to maintain orderly foreign exchange markets against the backdrop of the yen's weakness. BOJ Governor Ueda said the central bank would continue raising interest rates in its future policy operations and indicated that it could not tolerate the inflation outlook exceeding 2%.
The three major US indices fell. IT, communications, and consumer discretionary stocks were weak, while energy, consumer staples, and materials rose relatively strongly. Among individual stocks, Palo Alto Networks, Palantir, CrowdStrike, AMD, and Intel declined. Following a sharp drop in generative AI-related stocks, Nvidia's CEO said the benefits of AI would outweigh the concerns.
The US market was reportedly affected by caution toward AI- and semiconductor-related stocks.