[Nikkei Average Stock Price・TOPIX (Table)]

Nikkei Average; 39,533.08; +75.59

TOPIX; 2,740.73; +2.40

[Afternoon Market Overview]

In the afternoon session, the Nikkei Average started at 39,533.08 yen, up 75.59 yen from the previous day, which is slightly higher than the prior close (39,520.06 yen). During lunch, Nikkei 225 Futures fluctuated in the range of 39,510 yen to 39,570 yen. The dollar-yen exchange rate was about 153.80-90 yen per dollar, showing a strong yen and weaker dollar since around 9 AM. In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index briefly rose in the morning but then dropped about 0.4%, while the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index largely remained in negative territory, falling about 0.5%.

In the Tokyo market for the afternoon session, buying pressure was slightly ahead compared to the morning close. The Dow futures, which were somewhat weak in the morning, strengthened afterward, creating a sense of reassurance in the Tokyo market. However, ahead of the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting and the Bank of Japan's monetary policy meeting, some investors are holding back on aggressive buying to assess those events.

In terms of sectors, Other Products, Information & Communications, and Precision Instruments had the highest gains, while Securities Futures, Nonferrous Metals, and Insurance sector had the largest declines.

In the trading value rankings of the Tokyo Stock Exchange Main Board, Park 24 <4666>, IHI <7013>, ANYCOLOR <5032>, Sanrio <8136>, SoftBank Group <9984>, Socionext <6526>, Chugai Pharmaceutical <4519>, Kasumigaseki Capital <3498>, NINTENDO CO LTD <7974>, and Sumitomo Realty <8830> are performing well. Meanwhile, Advantest <6857>, Sakura <3778>, Furukawa Electric <5801>, SHIFT <3697>, Nissan Motor <7201>, Tokyo Electric Power HD <9501>, Kansai Electric Power <9503>, Fujikura <5803>, Recruit HD <6098>, and Tokio Marine <8766> are experiencing declines.