Nikkei Average continued to rise, up by 104.32 yen (+0.26%) from the previous trading day to close the morning trading at 39,687.40 yen (approximately 820 million shares traded).
The US stock market fell on June 28th. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 45.20 points (-0.12%) at 39,118.86, the NASDAQ Index fell 126.08 points (-0.71%) to 17,732.60, and the S&P500 closed at 5460.48, down 22.39 points (-0.41%). The opening was mixed. Concerns about inflation re-acceleration retreated after the slowing down of May's PCE price index (core), and expectations of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve Board supported the market, but the Dow fell due to disappointing earnings from Nike, a sporting goods maker. It rose after the June Michigan consumer confidence index exceeded expectations. The NASDAQ rose to an all-time high at one point, but after digesting the latest economic indicators, it turned downward and the major stock indexes closed slightly lower.
Although US stocks fell over the weekend, concerns over European political instability eased as the extreme right-wing party did not gain as much momentum as expected in the French lower house election, and the Tokyo market started trading with a buying bias. The Nikkei average rose to nearly 40,000 yen, but after the initial buying, the market was quiet. On the other hand, the TOPIX exceeded the year-to-date high of 2,821.86 points based on trading hours on June 28th, as large-market capitalization insurance stocks were bought.
Among the Nikkei stocks, J Front <3086>, which raised its full-year forecast due to better-than-expected first-quarter earnings results, and Takashimaya <8233>, which also showed good performance, were in a buying trend. Shipping stocks such as Kawasaki Kisen <9107>, Nippon Yusen <9101>, and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines <9104> also rose. In addition, insurance stocks such as Dai-ichi Life HD <8750> and T&D Holdings <8795>, and Amada <6113>, Okuma <6103>, Yokogawa Electric <6841>, and Nippon Steel <5631> were in a buying trend.
Meanwhile, Laser Tech <6920> saw speculative selling due to a change of CFO, while Sumitomo Pharma <4506>, which had been returning to a good price, was pushed down by short-term selling. In addition, Resonac <4004>, Terumo <4543>, Fujikura <5803>, and Nissan Chemical <4021> did not perform well.
In terms of industries, marine transportation, insurance, petroleum and coal products, other products, and wholesale trade rose, while nonferrous metals, pulp and paper, chemicals, land transportation, and precision instruments fell.
In terms of exchange rates, before the 10 o'clock rate decision, there was progress in the depreciation of the yen and the strengthening of the dollar, reaching the 161 yen and 10 sen level, but during lunchtime, the rate settled at around 160 yen and 90 sen and did not move. On the other hand, following the results of the French lower house elections, the yen weakened against the euro and accelerated, breaking through the 173 yen level for the first time since the introduction of the single currency euro in 1999. In addition to European currencies such as the euro and pound, the yen has weakened against Oceanian currencies such as the Australian dollar, leading to speculation that speculative yen-selling positions are building up. The afternoon Nikkei and TOPIX were expected to be developed while looking at the currency trend. Attention should be paid to whether TOPIX can firmly update its year-to-date high.