FX.co ★ Japanese Shares Rise for Second Session

On Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 index rose by 0.6% to conclude the day at 40,795, while the Topix Index saw a larger increase of 1.02%, reaching 2,967. This marks the second consecutive day of upward momentum for Japanese stocks. Investors appeared to look past a weak performance from Wall Street, where concerns about stagflation reemerged due to disappointing US economic indicators. Additionally, markets seemed unperturbed by recent escalations in trade tension, with President Donald Trump proposing tariffs as high as 250% on pharmaceutical imports and hinting at potential duties on semiconductors. Domestically, reports indicated a sixth straight month of decline in Japan's real wages in June, as inflation continued to outstrip wage growth. In terms of corporate developments, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries surged 4.8% following their successful bid to construct Australia’s future-generation warships. Contrastingly, Tokyo Electron experienced a 3.8% decline after Mizuho Securities revised their rating for the chip equipment company from “Buy” to “Neutral.”