The Japanese market rebounded sharply on Thursday, reversing the losses from the prior session, buoyed by mixed signals from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 surged past the 38,700 mark, driven by gains across most sectors, particularly among index heavyweights and technology stocks.
Currently, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index has risen 881.80 points, or 2.33%, to 38,752.06, after peaking at 38,815.38 earlier in the day. On Wednesday, Japanese shares had closed slightly lower.
Among market heavyweights, SoftBank Group is up nearly 4%, while Uniqlo's operator, Fast Retailing, has increased by almost 3%. In the automotive sector, Toyota and Honda are both up by over 1%.
In the technology space, Tokyo Electron is soaring close to 7%, Advantest is up more than 5%, and Screen Holdings is gaining almost 4%.
Within the banking sector, Mizuho Financial has risen by more than 1%, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is up nearly 1%, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is advancing by almost 2%.
For major exporters, Canon is up nearly 3%, while Sony and Mitsubishi Electric are each gaining more than 2%. Conversely, Panasonic is edging down by 0.3%.
Other notable gainers include Ebara, which has surged 8.5%, Disco up more than 7%, and DeNA, Konami Group, and Isetan Mitsukoshi, each gaining over 5%. Additionally, Kansai Electric Power, Nintendo, Hitachi, and ZOZO are all up more than 4%, while Socionext and NTT Data Group are advancing nearly 4% each.
Conversely, there are no significant losers in the market.
In economic news, the Bank of Japan’s Monetary Policy Board revealed in its July 30-31 meeting minutes that Japan has largely overcome past financial stresses, and the economy is expected to continue growing. During the meeting, the BoJ increased its benchmark rate by 15 basis points and outlined plans to reduce bond purchases to around JPY 3 trillion by Q1 2026.
In currency news, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 144 yen range on Thursday.
On Wall Street, stocks closed weaker on Wednesday due to uncertainty surrounding the near-term outlook after recent gains led the Dow and the S&P 500 to record highs. Investors processed the latest economic data and evaluated the central bank's interest rate trajectory.
The Dow dropped 293.47 points, or 0.7%, to 41,914.75, ending a four-session winning streak. The S&P 500 fell by 10.67 points, or 0.19%, to 5,722.26, while the Nasdaq increased slightly by 7.68 points, or 0.04%, to 18,082.21.
In Europe, major markets trended downwards. The Stoxx 600 declined by 0.11%, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped 0.17%, Germany's DAX fell by 0.41%, and France's CAC 40 contracted by 0.5%.
Oil prices experienced a significant drop on Wednesday, amidst uncertainty about demand and decreasing concerns over supply disruptions in Libya. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November declined by $1.87, or 2.6%, to $69.69 a barrel.
