[Nikkei Stock Average and TOPIX (Table)]
Nikkei average; 38,504.35; -576.90
TOPIX; 2,659.92; -35.59
[Sector]: Mining, insurance, banking, transportation equipment, wholesale trade, etc. are the top decliners, while pharmaceuticals, precision instruments, and electric and gas industries rose. The turnover of the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime includes Laser Tech <6920>, Mirrors HD <8897>, Kawasaki Shipbuilding <9107>, Dai-ichi Life HD <8750>, Recruit HD <6098>, Marubeni <8002>, Mitsui & Co. <8031>, Honda <7267>, SMC <6273>, INPEX <1605>, Nissan Motor <7201>, and Nomura <8604>, all of which fell. Meanwhile, Nitori Holdings <9843>, Rakuten Group <4755>, and Daiichi Sankyo <4568>, among others, have risen.
On the 1st, the Nikkei average continued to decline and started trading at 38,504.35 yen, down 576.90 yen. The previous day, October 31, the U.S. stock market continued to decline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 41,763.46, down 378.08 points, and the Nasdaq closed at 18,095.15, down 512.78 points. The Core PCE Price Index exceeded expectations, leading to a decline after the opening. Ahead of the employment statistics at the end of the month, adjustment selling continued. The decline of software company Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META), which operates social media Facebook (FB), weighed on the Nasdaq, accelerating the decline. Towards the end of the session, reports that Iran is preparing a large-scale retaliatory attack against Israel led to concerns about a deterioration of the situation in the Middle East also becoming a selling factor.
Selling pressure dominated the Tokyo stock market today. The decline in major indices in the U.S. stock market on the previous day weighed on stock prices in Tokyo. In particular, the Nasdaq Composite Index, which has a high proportion of technology stocks, fell by 2.76%, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, composed of major semiconductor-related stocks, fell by 4.01% compared to a 0.90% decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, pushing down the prices of technology and semiconductor-related stocks in the Tokyo market. In addition, tonight's release of October employment statistics in the U.S. and the upcoming U.S. presidential election next week are important events, prompting some investors to hold back on active buying until confirming these. On the other hand, with major companies entering the peak period for announcing earnings for the April-September period, the search for stocks with good earnings and performance provided support to stock prices, but selling pressure prevailed at the opening.
By sector, air transportation, nonferrous metals, insurance, other products, transportation equipment, etc., were among the top decliners, while marine transportation showed an increase. Among the top trading values in the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime, Socionext <6526>, Fujitsu <6702>, Laser Tech <6920>, Renesas <6723>, Nikon <7731>, Ibiden <4062>, SoftBank Group <9984>, TDK <6762>, Hitachi <6501>, Fujikura <5803>, Disco <6146>, JT <2914>, Toyo Electric <8035>, Shin-Etsu Chemical <4063>, Kyocera <6971>, Advantest <6857>, etc., decreased. On the other hand, Mitsubishi Electric <6503>, Panasonic Holdings <6752>, Screen Holdings <7735>, TEPCO Holdings <9501>, Mizuho <8411>, Takeda Pharmaceutical <4502>, Kawasaki Kisen <9107>, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial <8306>, among others, increased.
