On the 25th, the Nikkei average fell slightly for the first time in 5 trading days. It closed at 37,870.26 yen, down 70.33 yen (approximate volume of 1.6 billion 10 million shares). The Nikkei average started to rise slightly, mainly driven by buying of high-tech related stocks, as the NY Dow set new record highs for consecutive days in the previous day's US market and the SOX index also rose nearly 4%. It rose to 38,102.75 yen later, but with a short-term overheating perception, it fell to 37,868.84 yen by mid-morning. However, amidst the awareness of firm support at lower levels, there were scenes where it exceeded the high of 38,109.24 yen set in the morning by the mid-afternoon.

On the Tokyo Stock Exchange prime board, the number of rising and falling stocks is evenly matched. By sector, 17 industries including machinery, air transport, pulp & paper, and glass and stone rose. On the other hand, 16 industries including insurance, banks, marine, agriculture and forestry, precision instruments, and information communications declined. Among the sectors significantly impacting the index, Advantest <6857>, Fanuc Corp <6954>, Daikin <6367>, and Yasukawa Electric <6506> performed well, while Fast Retailing <9983>, SoftBank G <9984>, Terumo <4543>, and Toshiba Corporation <4543> were weak.

In the previous day's US market, the consumer confidence index for September fell below market expectations, leading to the emergence of views that the next rate cut by the US Federal Reserve may be significant. The decline in US interest rates led to buying in high-tech stocks. In the Tokyo market, this trend led to a cautious start, but it was capped around the 38,100 yen level. Conversely, when dropping below 37,900 yen, the market showed reluctance to decline, leading to a narrow range movement. Moreover, concerns about a significant further rate cut in the US led to caution regarding worsening spreads and weighed on the weak price movements of the financial sector, including major banks, insurance, and securities.

The US economy, judging by current economic indicators, shows a mixed pattern of strength and weakness, and with many important economic indicators set to be announced before the next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, there seems to be no optimistic outlook. The market is being supported by factors such as profit-taking movements like the September dividend, but there are also concerns about movements leading up to the weekend's Liberal Democratic Party leadership election, leading to a cautious mood and a likely continuation of a wait-and-see approach for the time being.