Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.53% to close at 61,142 on Friday, bringing its weekly gain to 6.46% and delivering its strongest weekly performance since June. The advance was driven by a rebound in technology shares after an AI-led selloff the previous week, when a Democratic sweep in the US midterm elections heightened concerns about tighter regulation of artificial intelligence.
Investors also continued to evaluate the broader implications of Nvidia’s leadership change for the AI sector, after CEO Jensen Huang stepped down following reports of extramarital affairs, with CFO Colette Kress assuming the role of interim CEO. At the same time, market attention shifted to Anthropic’s highly anticipated IPO scheduled for next week, which has reportedly drawn orders roughly six times the number of shares on offer, highlighting strong investor appetite for the AI firm.
Among notable gainers on Friday were Advantest (up 2.1%), Tokyo Electron (up 1.7%) and Recruit Holdings (up 5.1%).
