Japan's Nikkei rises as chip shares gain, BOJ's rate hike prospects weigh
EWJ•Market breadth
Of some 1,500 stocks trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's prime market, 41% rose, 55% fell and 3% traded flat.
Chip shares and banks advance, retailers fall
In Japan, chip-related shares rose, with Advantest 6857.T jumping 4.31%. Tokyo Electron 8035.T rose 0.45% and technology investor SoftBank Group 9984.T rose 2.09%. Memory maker Kioxia 285A.T edged up 0.76%.
Bank shares rose as Japanese government bond yields jumped on bets for a rate hike.
Mizuho Financial Group 8411.T rose 2.9% to become the top percentage gainer on the Nikkei. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group 8316.T and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group 8306.T rose nearly 2% each.
Shares of retailers, which are supported by domestic demand, fell, with Takashimaya 8233.T, Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings 3099.T and Seven & i Holdings 3382.T declining more than 2% each.
Alphabet outlook lifts semiconductor sentiment
Overnight, the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index .SOX, a reference for the Nikkei, ended up 0.4%. Alphabet GOOGL.O said that it expects to spend between $195 billion and $205 billion in capital expenditures, compared with the earlier plan of $180 billion to $190 billion this year.
"Sentiment improved after Alphabet raised its outlook for investments, and U.S. chip stocks inched up," said Shuutarou Yasuda, a market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory.
"On the other hand, bets that the BOJ may raise interest rates early hurt sentiment. Until now, the central bank tried to support the economy while raising rates, but that stance may change, which is negative for stocks led by domestic demand."
