The Nikkei Index ended the morning trading down 254.78 yen (−0.65%) at 39,112.80 yen (estimated volume 0.7 billion 70 million shares).
The U.S. stock market continued to decline on the 10th. The Dow Inc fell by 154.10 dollars to 44,247.83 dollars, while the Nasdaq closed down 49.45 points at 19,687.24. Material difficulties led to mixed trading, initially varied after the start. The Dow faced selling pressure due to high price caution, remaining weak throughout the day. The Nasdaq was temporarily boosted by Alphabet's rise but fell due to selling spurred by high interest rates and declines in Oracle Corp and NVIDIA in the semiconductor sector, ultimately transitioning to a drop. As the end approached, with the domestic Consumer Price Index (CPI) announcement set for the next day, profit-taking intensified, expanding the drop.
Despite the decline in the U.S. stock market, the foreign exchange rate stabilized around 152 yen per dollar, showing a weaker yen and stronger dollar compared to the previous day, resulting in mixed trading in the Tokyo market. The Nikkei Index, fluctuating around the previous day's closing level, dipped slightly but stabilized around the 39,100 yen level. With the upcoming U.S. CPI announcement tonight, a cautious mood prevailed, and the trading volume on the Main Board market remained at 1.7 trillion yen.
In the Nikkei stock average, semiconductor-related stocks such as DISCO <6146>, SUMCO <3436>, Advantest <6857>, and Lasertec <6920> generally declined, and Sumitomo Pharma <4506>, which rose the previous day, fell back. Additionally, Ebara Corporation <6361>, TOTO <5332>, Sumitomo Chemical <4005>, Shin-Etsu Chemical <4063>, FANUC CORP <6954>, and Keyence <6861> also declined.
On the other hand, Kawasaki Heavy Industries <7012>, IHI <7013>, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries <7011>, and defense-related stocks were bought, while news of a major acquisition by Nippon Life served as a stimulus for T&D Holdings <8795>, SOMPO Holdings <8630>, and MS&AD <8725>, which saw their Insurance stocks rise. Additionally, Konica Minolta <4902>, Ryohin Keikaku <7453>, Kikkoman <2801>, and Meiji Holdings <2269> were also bought.
By industry, Pharmaceuticals, Services, Nonferrous Metals, Glass, Stone, and Chemicals fell, while Insurance, Bank, Other Products, Metals, and Food Products rose.
In the latter half of the Tokyo market, a wait-and-see attitude has become stronger, leading to a small fluctuation in the Nikkei average. If the Shanghai Composite Index and the Hong Kong Index widen their gains on expectations of economic policy, the Nikkei average may rebound, but because specific figures regarding the economic policy have not been communicated, the upward potential is weak. The market is likely to maintain a strong mood to assess the U.S. CPI.