Nikkei heads for 7.3% weekly gain as chip stocks rebound
Japan's Nikkei share average climbed 1.25% to 61,576.91 by 0140 GMT on Friday, putting it on course for a 7.3% weekly gain, its biggest since the week of June 15. The broader Topix rose 0.63% to 3,962.08 and was headed for a weekly gain of about 7%, its strongest since mid-August 2024.
Semiconductor stocks drove the advance. Advantest gained 5.9%, Tokyo Electron rose 3% and Kioxia added 2.9%, even after a selloff in Nvidia shares dragged US stocks lower overnight. Rival chipmakers Broadcom and Alphabet rose, suggesting investors remain optimistic about the wider AI sector.
"The rise in semiconductor- and AI-related shares, which had been under pressure for a relatively long period, appears to have been a factor behind this week's gains in the Nikkei average and Topix," said Maki Sawada, equities strategist at Nomura Securities. Sawada said Japanese shares had already weakened in the previous session amid concerns over Nvidia developments, helping set the stage for Friday's recovery.
Market breadth was positive, with 138 advancers in the Nikkei 225 against 82 decliners and 5 unchanged stocks. Banking shares on the Tokyo bourses gained 1%, tracking a rise in US Treasury yields amid speculation about potential US rate hikes, with Japan's three largest banks due to report earnings later in the day.
The largest percentage gainers in the index were Amada Co, up 9.46%, followed by Socionext, up 6.77%, and Trend Micro, up 6.61%. The largest losers were Terumo, down 7.39%, Haseko, down 6.12%, and Mercari, down 3.68%.
