Japanese stocks initially fell but rebounded later, with early trading affected by the decline in U.S. tech stocks overnight on the 5th. Investors anticipated a victory for Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party in the House of Representatives election held on Sunday (8th), prompting them to buy into the market and push up Japanese equities. The Nikkei Average opened 382 points lower, dropped as much as 867 points to hit a low of 52,950 points in early trading, but subsequently recovered to close at an intraday high of 54,253 points, gaining 435 points or 0.8%.
In the artificial intelligence and semiconductor sectors, SoftBank (9984.JP) and Tokyo Electron (8035.JP) rose 2.2% and 2.6%, respectively. DISCO Corporation (6146.JP) and Advantest (6857.JP) increased by 1% and 1.1%, while Raytex Co., Ltd. (6920.JP) surged 4.5%. Kioxia Holdings (285A.JP) declined 2.2%. Fujikura (5803.JP), a wire manufacturer, gained 3.4%.
Market expectations of an increase in defense budgets boosted military stocks, with Kawasaki Heavy Industries (7012.JP) and IHI Corporation (7013.JP) rising 7.1% and 6.5%, respectively. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (7011.JP) climbed 2.8%. Tokyo Electric Power Company (9501.JP) advanced 7.1% following the announcement that the company would restart its nuclear reactor next month.
Trading companies Marubeni (8002.JP) and Sumitomo (8053.JP) gained 4.8% and 3.3%, respectively. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.JP) rose 2.5%, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316.JP) and Mizuho Financial (8411.JP) climbed 4.6% and 3.3%, respectively.
Among other stocks, Fast Retailing (9983.JP) edged up 0.3%. Automakers Honda (7267.JP) and Nissan (7201.JP) rose 3.2% and 4.9%, respectively. Toyota (7203.JP), which replaced its CEO for the second time within three years, saw its stock rise 2% along with peers. Battery maker Panasonic (6752.JP) added 2.6%. Additionally, Hitachi (6501.JP) and Sony (6758.JP) increased by 3.9% and 4.8%, respectively, while Mitsukoshi Isetan (3099.JP) surged 7.1%. Nintendo (7974.JP) fell 3.9%.
The dollar was quoted at 156.82 yen.
