[Nikkei Average Stock Price・TOPIX (Table)]

Nikkei Average; 39624.05; -225.09

TOPIX; 2752.10; -20.93

[Market Opening Overview]

On the 13th, the Nikkei Average started trading at 39624.05 yen, down 225.09 yen, marking a decline for the first time in five days. The US stock market was down on the previous day, the 12th. The Dow fell by 234.44 dollars to 43914.12 dollars, while the Nasdaq closed down by 132.05 points at 19902.84. Caution over the unexpected acceleration in the Producer Price Index (PPI) for November led to a decline after the opening. The Dow experienced further declines due to selling prompted by unexpectedly weak employment-related indicators and a drop in UnitedHealth (UNH), a managed healthcare company. The Nasdaq fell as concerns over rising long-term interest rates increased. As the market progressed toward the end, the stock market widened its declines.

Today, selling dominated the Tokyo stock market. The decline in major indices in the US stock market yesterday and the rise in US long-term interest rates in overseas markets weighed on prices in Tokyo. Additionally, with the weekend approaching and the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting scheduled for the 17th-18th and the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy meeting on the 18th-19th next week, some market players were hesitant to actively buy, wishing to assess these events. On the other hand, in the foreign exchange market, the yen continued to depreciate against the dollar at 152.60 yen, supporting export stocks in the Tokyo market, although selling was dominant at the opening. The Bank of Japan's Tankan (December survey) released before the market opened showed that the large enterprise manufacturing sector's business conditions judgment DI improved to plus 14 from plus 13 in the September survey. The median of private forecasts compiled by QUICK was plus 12. The outlook until March remained at plus 13 (a decrease of 1 this time). Today, Luxas Technologies <288A> was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange growth market. Furthermore, today was the special settlement index (SQ) calculation date for stock index futures and options for December. The SQ value was estimated by QUICK as 39434.85 yen.

By Sector, Rubber Products, Services, Chemicals, Transportation Equipment, Electric Appliances, etc. recorded higher rates of decline, while Electric and Gas, Pulp and Paper, Real Estate, Marine Transportation, and Insurance sectors were among those with higher rates of increase. In terms of trading volume on the Tokyo Main Board, Recruit HD <6098>, Sony Group Corp <6758>, Daiichi Sankyo <4568>, IHI <7013>, Kao <4452>, Mitsubishi Electric <6503>, Sanrio <8136>, Kawasaki Heavy <7012>, Tokyo Electron <8035>, Otsuka HD <4578>, Mitsubishi Heavy <7011>, Shin-Etsu Chemical <4063>, Toyota <7203> all declined. On the other hand, Advantest <6857>, Fujikura <5803>, Mitsui Fudosan <8801>, MS&AD <8725> recorded gains.