[Nikkei Average Stock Price・TOPIX (Table)]

Nikkei Average; 39,888.91; -92.15

TOPIX; 2,763.04; -6.96

[Market Opening Overview]

On the 9th, the Nikkei Average opened lower by 92.15 yen at 39,888.91. The previous day's U.S. stock market was mixed. The Dow Inc rose by 106.84 dollars to close at 42,635.20 dollars, while the Nasdaq fell by 10.80 points to close at 19,478.88. Following mixed results from employment-related indicators, the market remained flat after the open. The 9th was a day of mourning for former President Carter, leading to the stock market being closed, and profit-taking ahead of the upcoming employment statistics announcement later this week. Additionally, rising long-term interest rates weighed on stock prices. On the other hand, the minutes from the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting indicated continued solid growth, which helped the market stabilize, and towards the end, the Dow Inc regained positive territory, while the Nasdaq experienced a slight decline, leading to mixed outcomes for the major indices.

Today's Tokyo stock market saw selling dominate. The previous day's U.S. stock market had major indices mixed, making it challenging to find guidance, while the U.S. long-term interest rates remained high, putting pressure on stock prices in Tokyo. Additionally, upcoming announcements of the U.S. employment statistics for December and other labor-related indicators, along with this weekend's special settlement index (SQ) calculation date for the January index options in the Tokyo market, led some investors to forgo aggressive buying in anticipation of these events. Meanwhile, in the foreign exchange market, the exchange rate continued at a yen depreciation level of 158.10 yen per dollar, supporting the stock prices of export-oriented companies in the Tokyo market. Furthermore, the growing expectation for good earnings reports from companies with February fiscal year-ends underpinned stock prices, although selling prevalence was noted at the open. According to the recently announced status of external and internal securities trading contracts (weekly), overseas investors were net buyers of domestic stocks for the first time in three weeks during December 22-28, 2024, with a net purchase amount of 562.7 billion yen. However, they were net sellers for the first time in two weeks in the period of December 29, 2024 - January 4, 2025, with a net selling amount of 74 billion yen.

By sector, Marine Transportation, Iron & Steel, Air Transportation, Transportation Equipment, and Precision Instruments saw the largest declines, while Other Products, Services, Textiles & Apparels, Food, and Pharmaceutical had the highest increases. Among the top trading volume on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Main Board, Renesas <6723>, Nissan <7201>, Keyence <6861>, Lasertec <6920>, Kawasaki Kisen <9107>, Honda <7267>, Mitsui & Co <8031>, Daiichi Sankyo <4568>, NYK Line <9101>, Tokyo Electron <8035>, Dai-ichi Life HD <8750>, Tokyo Marine <8766>, Toyota <7203>, and others experienced declines. Conversely, Kioxia HD <285A>, Sanrio <8136>, Asics <7936>, Nomura Micro <6254>, TOWA <6315>, Advantest <6857>, Fujikura <5803>, Recruit HD <6098>, IHI <7013>, NINTENDO CO LTD <7974>, Mizuho <8411>, Disco <6146>, and others saw gains.