[Nikkei Stock Average and TOPIX (Table)]

Nikkei Average; 38748.65; +235.63

TOPIX; 2728.70; +13.98

[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 3rd, the Nikkei Average opened up by 235.63 yen at 38748.65 yen, continuing its upward trend. The U.S. stock market on the previous day, the 2nd, was mixed. The Dow average fell by 128.65 dollars to 44782.00 dollars, while the Nasdaq closed up by 185.78 points at 19403.95. This week, as important economic indicators such as employment statistics are pending, adjustments have intensified, leading to a mixed opening. The Dow average continued to trend weakly throughout the day due to concerns over rising long-term interest rates, geopolitical risks in the Middle East, and the impending collapse of the French cabinet facing a vote of no confidence. The Nasdaq Composite Index, supported by technology stocks, performed strongly and updated its record high.

Today, the Tokyo stock market was led by buying. Yesterday, although the Dow average in the U.S. stock market fell, the Nasdaq Composite Index, which has a high proportion of tech stocks, rose by 0.97%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX index), made up of major semiconductor-related stocks, increased by 2.61%, supporting the prices of tech stocks and semiconductor-related stocks in the Tokyo market. On the other hand, the decline in the Dow average in the U.S. market yesterday weighed down the stock prices in Tokyo. Additionally, in the foreign exchange market, the dollar was around 149.70 yen, roughly 60 sen stronger yen and weaker dollar compared to around 15:30 yesterday, which deterred buying of export stocks in the Tokyo market. Furthermore, the Nikkei Average was near the 25-day moving average, which is around 38700 yen, and was regarded as a resistance line, leading to the view that there is not much short-term upside from here, but buying prevailed during trading.

By sector, all industries rose. The marine transportation, chemicals, electric appliances, metal products, and wholesale trade sectors had the highest gains. In terms of trading value on the Tokyo Stock Exchange main board, companies such as Screen HD <7735>, Kawasaki Kisen <9107>, Disco <6146>, Lasertec <6920>, Shin-Etsu Chemical <4063>, Tokyo Electron <8035>, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines <9104>, Furukawa Electric <5801>, NYK Line <9101>, Kasumigaseki Capital <3498>, Renesas <6723>, Mitsubishi Electric <6503>, and Advantest <6857> saw increases. On the other hand, Kansai Electric <9503> and Daiichi Sankyo <4568> experienced declines.