[Nikkei Stock Average and TOPIX (Table)]

Nikkei Average; 38,313.21; -58.55.

TOPIX; 2,689.57; -2.55.

Summary of the start of the afternoon session

The afternoon Nikkei Average started at 38,313.21 yen, which is 58.55 yen lower than the previous day's closing (38,220.34 yen), narrowing the decline. During the lunchtime, the Nikkei 225 futures traded strong in the range of 38,190 yen to 38,330 yen. The USD/JPY exchange rate was around 144.50-60 yen, with the yen weakening and the dollar strengthening by about 20 yen from around 9:00 am. In the Asian market, while the Shanghai Composite Index is trading in negative territory and falling by about 0.5%, the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell after the start and is down by about 0.8%.

The afternoon Tokyo market started with buying, leading compared to the pre-market session. The morning Nikkei Average showed a firm bottom after the selling subsided after the start of trading, and the fact that Dow Average futures are moving steadily seems to be providing a sense of security in the Tokyo market. On the other hand, although Nvidia's earnings announcement has passed, there are some cautious buyers in the U.S. as tonight's weekly U.S. initial jobless claims and tomorrow's July U.S. personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index will be announced and they want to assess these indicators.

In the sectors, securities commodity futures, service industry, and pulp and paper are the top decliners, while the insurance industry, marine transportation, and wholesale trade are the top gainers.

In the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market, Nidec<6594>, TOWA<6315>, Rakuten Group<4755>, Screen HD<7735>, Recruit HD<6098>, KOKUSAI<6525>, Disco<6146>, SoftBank Group<9984>, Nitori HD<9843>, and Socionext<6526> are declining. On the other hand, Itochu<8001>, Taiyo Yuden<6976>, Mercari<4385>, Daiichi Sankyo<4568>, Kasumigaseki Capital<3498>, Tokyo Marine Holdings<8766>, IHI<7013>, Murata Manufacturing<6981>, Kawasaki Heavy Industries<7012>, and KDDI<9433> are rising.