The Nikkei 225 Index advanced 0.4% to climb back above the 68,000 mark on Wednesday, snapping a four-session losing streak as selling pressure on technology and AI-related stocks eased. Market sentiment was further supported by dovish comments from New York Fed President John Williams, who reiterated that one additional rate hike would likely be appropriate this year but indicated no need for further tightening in 2027. A decline in US Treasury yields also underpinned Japanese equities, though gains were capped by persistently high oil prices.
Within the technology sector, Advantest rose 1%, Kioxia Holdings added 2.2%, Lasertec climbed 2.5%, SoftBank Group advanced 2.6%, and Taiyo Yuden jumped 5.1%. Japanese technology shares had come under sustained pressure in recent sessions amid growing concerns over AI-related investment plans and escalating competition from Chinese firms.
