[Nikkei Stock Average and TOPIX (Table)]

Nikkei average; 38216.95; +8.92

TOPIX; 2687.65; +6.94

[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 December 2, the Nikkei average started slightly higher at 38,216.95 yen, up 8.92 yen from the previous week. In the U.S. market on November 29, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 44,910.65, up 188.59 points, and the Nasdaq closed trading at 19,218.17, up 157.69 points. It was revealed that President-elect Trump, along with the leaders of Canada and Mexico, had constructive dialogues about tariff policies, leading to improved investor sentiment. Following the positive opening, driven by optimistic views of record-breaking sales on Black Friday and expectations for year-end shopping season, the retail sector saw increased buying interest, lifting the market overall. Positive reactions to the decline in long-term interest rates and strong performance in the high-tech sector led to a steady market throughout the day, with the Dow hitting an all-time high. The Chicago Nikkei 225 futures settlement price was 38,300 yen, up 130 yen from Osaka. Today's Nikkei average is seeing some buying at the opening, but the gains are expanding as the day progresses. Money continues to flow into financial stocks and there seems to be autonomous buying interest in semiconductor stocks and others.

In transactions on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market, the following companies saw increases: DISCO <6146>, Mitsui Sumitomo <8316>, Laser Tech <6920>, Mitsubishi UFJ <8306>, Toyo Electric <8035>, Advantec <6857>, Nintendo <7974>, Hitachi <6501>, among others. On the other hand, there were noticeable declines in companies like Fast Retailing <9983>, Shiseido Company, Limited Sponsored ADR <4911>, Mercari <4385>. In terms of industry sectors, insurance, banking, and other products were among the top gainers in terms of growth rate.