The Nikkei 225 jumped more than 2% to above 58,800 on Monday, recouping part of last week’s sharp losses as investor sentiment improved, led by gains in financial and consumer-related shares. Major banks advanced, including Mitsubishi UFJ (up 4.6%), Sumitomo Mitsui (4.2%) and Mizuho Financial (4.8%). Retailers and automakers also climbed, with Fast Retailing gaining 2.7%, Nintendo 3.4% and Toyota Motor 2.1%.
Last week, the Nikkei tumbled more than 9%, its steepest weekly drop since the COVID-19-driven market rout in March 2020. The selloff followed a Democratic sweep in the US midterm elections, which intensified concerns about tighter regulation of the AI industry and a potential slowdown in data center expansion. Because of their heavy exposure to the global AI infrastructure boom, Japanese technology firms remain especially vulnerable to any renewed weakness in the sector.
