The Nikkei Average opened at ¥64,755.49, down ¥161.21, and began trading lower for a second consecutive session. With investor sentiment cautious amid pressure from weaker US equities and concern over interest-rate trends, AI-related and semiconductor-related stocks are the market's focus.
The Nikkei Average opened on the 20th at ¥64,755.49, down ¥161.21 from the previous day's close. US equities were generally mixed; although the Dow recovered in the latter half of the session despite an earlier decline, selling prevailed at the time of the Tokyo opening. Tokyo stocks also came under early selling pressure in response to US market trends, while higher oil prices and rising long-term US interest rates made investors more cautious.
By sector, marine transportation, nonferrous metals, banks, information and communications were among the biggest decliners, while iron and steel, oil and coal products, and electric power and gas rose. Market participants see this as a period for assessing the outlook for next fiscal year's earnings and movements in AI-related stocks.
Among the most actively traded stocks on the TSE Prime Market, Trend Micro, Taiyo Yuden, SoftBank Group, Fujikura, Kioxia Holdings, SUMCO, Mizuho, Ibiden, Tokyo Electron, Resonac, Advantest, Furukawa Electric, Sumitomo Electric Industries, Recruit Holdings, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Disco declined. By contrast, Nippon Steel, ARCHION, Fast Retailing, Tokio Marine, Takeda Pharmaceutical, Yaskawa Electric, INPEX, Honda, JT, NTT, Nintendo, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Fujitsu rose.