At the time of the closing on the 18th, the number of rising stocks in the Nikkei average constituent stocks was 153, the number of falling stocks was 69, and the number of unchanged stocks was 3.

On the 17th, the U.S. market was mixed. The Dow Jones fell by 15.90 points (-0.04%) to 41,606.18, the Nasdaq rose by 35.93 points (+0.20%) to 17,628.06, and the S&P500 closed at 5,634.58, up 1.49 points (+0.03%). The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting initially raised expectations of a rate cut, leading to an increase. However, after the August retail revenue exceeded market expectations, the expectation of a significant rate cut slightly receded. There was caution ahead of the FOMC meeting and adjustments, causing the market to struggle. Profit-taking selling was observed near record highs for the Dow, leading to a downturn. The Nasdaq was supported by a positive interest rate outlook, trading firmly and closing mixed.

U.S. stocks were mixed in high and low, lacking direction, but as the exchange rate rose to the 142 yen per dollar level, the Tokyo market started with a buyback dominant position. The Nikkei average rose to around 36,600 yen, a slight pause from the previous day's high, narrowing the gains. Ahead of the FOMC results to be announced at 3:00 am Japan time on the 19th, caution about the outcome led to a restrained optimistic buying attitude, resulting in little movement around the previous day's closing levels.

The Nikkei average at the closing was 36,380.17 yen, up 176.95 yen (+0.49%) from the previous day. The trading volume on the TSE prime market was 1.53192 billion shares. The trading value was 3.47 trillion yen. By industry, transportation equipment, petroleum and coal products, mining, rubber products, warehousing and transportation-related industries rose, while land transportation, air transportation, pharmaceuticals, real estate, food products, and others declined. The number of rising stocks in the TSE prime market was 72%, while the number of falling stocks was 25%.

The top contributor to the rise was Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. <9983>, which pushed the Nikkei average up by about 73 yen with one stock. The second was Advantest <6857>, followed by Toyota <7203>, TDK <6762>, Disco <6146>, Honda <7267>, M3, Inc. <2413>, and others.

On the other hand, the top contributor to the decline was Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. <4519>, which pushed the Nikkei average down by about 11 yen with one stock. The second was Nitori Holdings Co., Ltd. <9843>, followed by Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. <4568>, Otsuka Holdings Co., Ltd. <4578>, Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. <4063>, KDDI Corporation <9433>, Fujifilm Holdings Corporation <4901>, and others.

* As of 15:00

Nikkei Average Stock Price: 36,380.17 (+176.95)

Number of stocks with price increases: 153 (contribution: +264.53)

Number of stocks with price decreases: 69 (contribution: -87.58)

Number of unchanged stocks 3

○ Top advancing stocks

Code, Stock Name, Latest Price, Day Change, Contribution

<9983> First Retail 44820 750 73.55

<6857> Advante 6125 109 28.51

<7203> Toyota Motor 2485 79 12.91

<6762> TDK 8615 101 9.91

<6146> DISCO 34830 1120 7.32

<7267> HONDA 1494 37 7.16

<2413> M3 1420 72 5.61

<9984> SoftBank G 8196 28 5.49

<8015> Toyota Tsusho 2548 46 4.46

<7733> Olympus 2578 34 4.38

<7269> Suzuki 1540 33 4.25

7832 - Bandai Namco Holdings Ltd. 3263 42 4.12

8253 - Credit Saison Co., Ltd. 3517 124 4.05

5108 - Bridgestone Corporation 5389 109 3.56

4503 - Astellas Pharma Inc. 1710 21 3.35

4324 - Dentsu Group Inc. 4310 102 3.33

6367 - Daikin Industries, Ltd. 17595 90 2.94

8035 - Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc. 22465 25 2.45

6305 - Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. 3411 73 2.39

<6301> Komatsu Ltd. 3734 73 2.39

Top decreasing stocks

Code, Stock Name, Latest Price, Day Change, Contribution

<4519> Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. 6754 -113 -11.08

<9843> Nitori Holdings Co., Ltd. 22205 -530 -8.66

<4568> Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. 4895 -73 -7.16

<4578> Otsuka Holdings Co., Ltd. 7868 -176 -5.75

<4063> Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. 5615 -23 -3.76

<9433> KDDI 4721 -16 -3.14

<4901> Fujifilm 3794 -28 -2.75

<7751> Canon 4669 -54 -2.65

<6954> Fanuc 3762 -16 -2.62

<4452> Kao 6870 -76 -2.48

<4661> Oriental Land 3826 -76 -2.48

<6920> Laser Tech 22110 -180 -2.35

<3099> Mitsukoshi Isetan HD 2125 -71.5 -2.34

<8058> Mitsubishi Corporation 2803 -22 -2.16

<8801> Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. 1352 -21 -2.06

<4704> Trend Micro Co., Ltd. 8802 -63 -2.06

<4507> Shionogi & Co., Ltd. 6303 -52 -1.70

<6702> Fujitsu Limited 2886 -45.5 -1.49

<4523> Eisai Co., Ltd. 5627 -45 -1.47

<6526> Sojitz Corporation 2739 -42.5 -1.39