In the afternoon trading on the 3rd, we want to focus on the following three points.

- The Nikkei average rose for the third consecutive day, maintaining a positive territory near 39,000 yen, although it lost momentum.

- The dollar-yen rate is weak, influenced by stock prices.

- First Retail <9983> contributed the most to the price increase, followed by NTT Data Group <9613>.

■ The Nikkei average rose for the third consecutive day, maintaining a positive territory near 39,000 yen, although it lost momentum.

The Nikkei average has risen for 3 consecutive days. It closed the morning trading session at 38,787.80 yen, up 86.93 yen (+0.22%) from the previous day's closing price, with a trading volume of approximately 0.7 billion 60 million shares.

The U.S. stock market was closed on the 2nd due to the Labor Day holiday. In the foreign exchange market, trading in major currencies was lackluster due to the holiday, but the dollar maintained a slightly firm movement. The dollar-yen rate showed a sluggish decline. After briefly rising to 147.17 yen, it fell to 146.81 yen and closed at 146.91 yen.

Due to the fact that the exchange rate temporarily reached the 147 yen level, the Tokyo market started trading with a slightly positive bias. The Nikkei average started above the previous day's closing price and rose to nearly 39,000 yen, but the upward momentum narrowed due to the lack of clear material. Although the day-to-day change in the Nikkei average remained in the range of about 240 yen, the trading value in the prime market remained low at 1.6 trillion yen.

Among the Nikkei average constituent stocks, NTT Data Group<9613>, NEC<6701>, and Haseko Corporation<1808> were bought based on positive reports from securities companies. Financial stocks such as Resona Holdings<8308>, Dai-ichi Life Holdings<8750>, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group<8306>, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group<8316> also rose due to the rise in interest rates. In addition, Sapporo Holdings<2501>, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings<4188>, Fujitsu<6702>, and Yamato Holdings<9064> were bought.

On the other hand, semiconductor-related stocks such as Socionext<6526>, Laser Tek<6920>, SUMCO<3436>, Renesas Electronics<6723>, and Advantest<6857> declined. In addition, Fujikura<5803>, HOYA<7741>, Disco<6146>, Kawasaki Heavy Industries<7012>, and IHI<7013> were sold.

By industry, banking, insurance, land transportation, textiles & apparels, and information & communications industries rose, while precision instruments, marine transportation, machinery, nonferrous metals, and rubber products were the only five sectors that declined.

During the lunchtime session, the exchange rate was stable at around 146.70 yen to the dollar, and the weakness of the yen eased. Due to the relative strength of the TOPIX index as a result of the rise in financial stocks, the afternoon session is also expected to be dominated by a TOPIX-led market sentiment. With a lack of significant trading material, attention will be focused on whether the Nikkei average can close above the 38,646 yen level, where the 75-day moving average is located.

The dollar-yen is weak, watching the stock market.

In the morning session of the Tokyo market on the 3rd, the dollar-yen was weak, rising to 147.20 yen and then falling to 146.56 yen. As the Nikkei average stock price expands its gains, the yen weakens and rises to the 147 yen range. However, there is concern about a decline in stocks tonight due to the weak tone of the US stock futures, and the yen's selling has narrowed.

The range of transactions so far has been 146.56 yen to 147.20 yen for the dollar-yen, 162.21 yen to 162.79 yen for the euro-yen, and 1.1059 dollars to 1.1072 dollars for the euro-dollar.

Check stocks for the afternoon session

- Six stocks, including Ishin <143A> and Jidat <3841>, hit the limit up.

*Includes temporary stopper (indicated price)

- First Retail <9983> was the top contributor to the price increase, followed by NTT Data Group <9613>.

Economic indicators and remarks by important people

[Economic indicators]

- Monetary base for August: +0.6% year-on-year (July: +1.0%).

- Australia's Q2 current account balance: -10.7 billion Australian dollars (estimate: -5 billion Australian dollars, Q1: -6.3 billion Australian dollars ← -4.9 billion Australian dollars).

[Important Person's Remarks]

-Related sources.

Vice President Harris is expected to state that the major US steel company, United States Steel, should continue to be owned and operated domestically.

Not applicable.

15:30 Switzerland, August Consumer Price Index (YoY forecast: +1.2%, July: +1.3%)

16:00 Switzerland, GDP for the 4th-6th quarter (YoY forecast: +1.5%, 1st-3rd quarter: +0.6%)