Japanese shares end higher on chip gains, earnings outlook
EWT•Chip stocks follow gains in U.S. peers
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ended higher on Wednesday, lifted by upbeat quarterly results from CoreWeave CRWV.O and other AI infrastructure firms, while mild inflation data reinforced bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady in September. The PHLX Semiconductor Index .SOX advanced about 2.5%.
"When the SOX index rises, Japanese chip-related shares follow, and Advantest is the symbol of that today," said Kazuaki Shimada, chief strategist at IwaiCosmo Securities.
Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest 6857.T climbed 4.02%, while Ibiden 4062.T, a supplier to AI bellwether Nvidia NVDA.O, was up 5.27%.
Murata Manufacturing 6981.T, a leading maker of multi-layer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) used to regulate power in AI servers, jumped 10.25%.
Japanese stocks close higher as Topix hits record
Japanese shares closed higher on Thursday, with the Topix hitting a record high, as chip-related stocks tracked U.S. peers higher and a robust earnings outlook for local firms lifted sentiment.
The Nikkei .N225 rose 1.16% to 68,308.59, while the broader Topix .TOPX rose 0.86% to a record high close of 4,176.04, extending gains to a seventh straight session.
Earnings outlook supports both value and growth stocks
"What is different from previous rallies of Japanese stocks is that investors are buying both value and growth stocks. That is supported by a strong corporate outlook," Shimada said.
Toppan Holdings 7911.T jumped 10.78% to become the biggest percentage gainer on the Nikkei, after the printing and packaging firm said its first-quarter net profit more than doubled from a year earlier.
Banks, icons for value shares, rose, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group 8306.T and Mizuho Financial Group 8411.T up nearly 3% each.
