Buying momentum from the 9 a.m. hour ran its course, and the Nikkei Average was struggling for direction shortly before 10:00, although it remained about ¥60 above the previous weekend's close. Profit-taking sales emerged amid concerns that shares appeared expensive following the rise in domestic interest rates and as a reaction to the rapid pace of the gains.
In mid-morning trading on the Tokyo stock market on the 28th, the Nikkei Stock Average was struggling for direction. Shortly after 10:00, it was at one point pushed down to the ¥66,400 range, about ¥60 above the previous weekend's close. After the Nikkei Average rose into the ¥67,000 range in morning trading for the first time in about a month and a half, it came under pressure from profit-taking sales.
The Nikkei Average rose for 5 consecutive trading days through the 25th, gaining nearly ¥3,000 over that period. Market participants said that with long-term domestic interest rates moving in the 3% range, the relative expensiveness of equities was likely to attract attention, while sales were emerging as a reaction to the rapid gains.
As of 10:00, trading value on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market was estimated at ¥2.3446 trillion, and trading volume was 650.28 million shares.
Among individual stocks, SoftBank Group, Advantest and Tokyo Electron were higher, while Ibiden and Kioxia extended their declines. KDDI, Chugai Pharmaceutical and Daiichi Sankyo were lower.