[Nikkei Stock Average and TOPIX (Table)]

Nikkei average; 39,020.51; +109.32

TOPIX; 2,693.10; +5.27

Summary of the start of the afternoon session

In the afternoon, the Nikkei average started with a slight narrowing of the morning gap, opening at 39,020.51 yen, an increase of 109.32 yen from the previous day closing (39,058.32 yen). The Nikkei 225 futures during lunchtime showed a slight downside trend within the range of 39,040 yen to 39,150 yen. The USD/JPY exchange rate remained at around 149.90-150.00 yen, with the yen weakening and the dollar strengthening slightly from around 9 a.m. The Asian market situation saw the Shanghai Composite Index initially declining in the morning but recovering to about 0.5% higher, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong remained mostly in positive territory but lacked direction, increasing by about 0.6%.

The afternoon session in the Tokyo market started with some selling pressure compared to the morning session. Domestic interest rates are on the rise, weighing on stock prices. However, there is an outlook that the lower end of the market remains strong due to bargain hunting below the 39,000 yen level, despite some sluggishness in the morning Nikkei average.

Within sectors, the machinery, banking, and pharmaceutical industries are among the top gainers, while the electrical utilities, oil & coal products, and rubber products sectors are seeing higher declines.

In the top traded value on the TSE Prime Market, Disco <6146>, SHIFT <3697>, Otsuka Holdings <4578>, Fujikura <5803>, Sakura <3778>, Sosei Group <6526>, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group <8306>, Keyence <6861>, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries <7011>, and HOYA <7741> are performing well. On the other hand, Kasumigaseki Capital <3498>, TEPCO Holdings <9501>, Laser Tech <6920>, Shiseido Company,Limited Sponsored ADR <4911>, Mercari <4385>, Renesas <6723>, Screen HD <7735>, Rakuten <4755>, Sony Group Corp <6758>, and SoftBank Group <9984> are declining.