FX168 Financial News Agency (Asia Pacific) - On Wednesday (November 20), the Tokyo stock market closed lower as investors expressed concerns about the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, while maintaining a cautious attitude ahead of the upcoming financial report release by the American chip giant, nvidia.

At the close, the Nikkei 225 index fell 62.09 points, a decrease of 0.16%, to 38,352.34 points; the broader Topix index fell 11.74 points, a decrease of 0.43%, closing at 2,698.29 points. #Japanese market#

In the main board market, insurance, land transportation, and mining stocks led the decline.

Due to the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine situation, coupled with reports that Ukraine has used long-range missiles provided by the United States to attack Russia for the first time, investors bought yen as a safe haven later on Tuesday, causing a brief decline in the US dollar. However, on Wednesday, the USD/JPY exchange rate rebounded to the 155 yen low range.

Ukraine's actions and Russian President Putin's relaxation of the nuclear threshold have heightened concerns about geopolitical risks and their impact on the global economy. The stock market was largely under pressure throughout the day.

Meanwhile, the market is taking a wait-and-see approach towards nvidia's upcoming financial report. nvidia, the world's largest market cap company, will announce its third-quarter financial report after the Wall Street close on Wednesday, which is seen as a key test for chip demand and the sustainability of the AI boom. According to data from options analytics provider ORATS, nvidia's options imply a potential 8.5% price fluctuation after the financial report release.

Kyle Rodda, Senior Financial Market Analyst at Capital.com, said: 'Due to nvidia's huge size, its performance will impact post-market futures trading on Wall Street and trigger a chain reaction when Asian markets open tomorrow.'

Despite the rise in American chip stocks before nvidia's financial report, several major Japanese chip-related stocks fell in early trading on Wednesday, with the decline narrowing in the afternoon.

Tokyo Electron Ltd. unsponsored ADR fell by 0.6%, becoming the second largest drag on the Nikkei 225 Index, second only to the 7% decline of insurance company Tokio Marine Holdings. SoftBank Group, focused on investing in artificial intelligence startups, fell by 0.4%. Meanwhile, one of NVIDIA's clients, Advantest, saw a rebound in stock price, rising by 1.1%.

Chief Market Strategist Masahiro Ichikawa of Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company stated that investors are paying attention to the financial report to assess the demand for semiconductors and artificial intelligence, with a wait-and-see sentiment suppressing bid orders.

Ichikawa mentioned that due to geopolitical concerns, export-oriented auto and shipping stocks were sold off, but the market found some support from bid orders on stocks like Seven & i Holdings, which have new trading leads.

Seven & i Holdings, the company operating 7-Eleven convenience stores, was one of the top gainers of the day, as reports suggested that its founding family plans to privatize the company by the end of the current fiscal year to thwart the acquisition attempt by Canadian competitor Couche-Tard Inc.

Investors are still monitoring the future market trends, particularly the further impact of geopolitical situations and expectations for semiconductor and artificial intelligence demand.