在股票市场，日经指数全天表现坚挺，得益于迅销公司的买盘。迅销公司股价上涨6.1%，成为涨幅最大的股票之一。该公司是优衣库品牌的母公司，周四宣布连续第三年录得创纪录利润。FX168 Financial News Agency (Asia Pacific) - On Friday (October 11), the Japanese stock market rose to its highest level in two weeks, mainly driven by the rise of index heavyweight Fast Retailing Corporation, but investors became cautious as the earnings season began.
At the close, the Nikkei 225 index rose by 0.6% to 39,605.80 points, with a weekly increase of 2.5%. Meanwhile, the broader Topix index fell by 0.2% to 2,706.2 points. #JapaneseMarket#
In the primary market, stocks of banks, retailers, and insurance companies led the gains.
In the stock market, the Nikkei 225 index showed resilience throughout the day, benefiting from bid on Fast Retailing Corporation. Fast Retailing's stock price rose by 6.1%, becoming one of the largest gainers. The company is the parent company of the Uniqlo brand and announced record profits for the third consecutive year on Thursday.
Although 160 stocks in the Nikkei 225 index fell, the increase in Fast Retailing Corporation's stock price, as one of the heaviest components in the Nikkei 225 index, was sufficient to keep the Nikkei index in positive growth territory.
Despite the overnight decline of the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index and the three major stock indexes on Wall Street, chip-related stocks in Japan still closed higher following Nvidia's gains.
One of Nvidia's clients, chip testing equipment manufacturer Advantest Corp, saw its stock price rise by 3.5%. Chip manufacturing equipment giant Tokyo Electron Ltd. Unsponsored ADR edged up 0.4%.
Among the major decliners, startup venture capital firm SoftBank Group focused on artificial intelligence fell by nearly 1%, telecom company KDDI slid by 1.7%, and auto manufacturer Toyota Motor declined by 0.7%.
Retailer Seven & I Holdings Co. fell 1.4%. The company announced a plan on Thursday to divest underperforming businesses, focusing on the convenience store business to fend off a $47 billion acquisition offer from Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard.
However, traders said the dollar/yen slightly strengthened in Tokyo, rising to above 148 as investors adjusted positions ahead of the weekend.
Nevertheless, the stock market also faced selling pressure, with the TOPIX index falling into negative territory in the afternoon as investors adjusted positions before a three-day holiday in Japan, waiting for further trading signals.
The Nikkei index struggled approaching 40,000 points, with investors remaining cautious on Friday and next Tuesday ahead of a series of corporate earnings releases, while Monday's local holiday made investors even more cautious.
"It's hard to buy before earnings are released," said Masahiro Ichikawa, Chief Market Strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management, "Investors want to understand the company's profit trend before taking action."
