The Nikkei Average fell for a fifth consecutive day and moved into negative territory late in the session. Futures-led buying lifted the market in the morning, but it weakened around 2 p.m., with some semiconductor-related stocks losing ground.
The Tokyo market closed with the Nikkei Average at ¥67,744.29, down ¥33.23 from the previous day. The Nikkei Average fell for a fifth consecutive day and moved into negative territory late in the afternoon session. Trading volume on the TSE Prime Market was 2.18982 billion shares, and trading value was approximately ¥7.4507 trillion.
Buying led by futures came first in the morning session, at times pushing the index higher, particularly through semiconductor stocks. However, market conditions weakened around 2 p.m. Reports suggested that selling spread following ASML Holding's July-September earnings announcement. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's largest semiconductor foundry, due to announce its earnings, there were also signs of investors refraining from buying.
Among individual stocks, Kioxia Holdings, Lasertec, Tokyo Electron and Disco traded weakly. Expectations for a rebound in megabanks and the stronger yen also weighed on the overall market. Fast Retailing and SBG were among the stocks cited as having the largest positive contributions to the Nikkei Average, while Tokyo Electron, Olympus and Kioxia were among those with the largest negative contributions.
The next focus is expected to be on ASML's earnings trends and the content of TSMC's announcement, with investors likely to continue watching semiconductor-related stocks closely.