On the morning of February 16th, the Nikkei Stock Average continued to rise on the Tokyo stock market, closing at 38,505.89 yen, up 347.95 yen from the previous business day. The photo was taken in February 2018 at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo (2024 Reuters/Toru Hanai)
TOKYO (Reuters) – In the morning Tokyo stock market, the Nikkei Stock Average continued to rise, closing at 38,505.89 yen, up 347.95 yen from the previous business day. Stocks with large contributions to the index pushed up the market price, and the index hit a new high after the collapse of the bubble economy, rising to 38,865.06 yen at one point, approaching an all-time high. After a round of buying, some semiconductor-related stocks weakened, resulting in sluggish growth.
The Nikkei average started off solidly, rising 359 yen from the previous business day. The price continued to rise even after the move, reaching over 700 yen in the middle of the market. U.S. semiconductor manufacturing equipment maker Applied Materials (AMAT.O), opens new tab, announced on the 15th that sales for the second quarter (February to April) will be $6.5 billion (plus or minus $400 million). Stocks rose 12% after announcing the outlook, and high-tech stocks such as those related to semiconductors performed well. However, tech stocks gradually began to show signs of a lull in buying, and the top prices became heavier.
As the Nikkei Stock Average nears its all-time high, a director of the Domestic Securities and Investment Information Department points out that the market is “slightly sluggish, with a sense of short-term overheating.” Technically, the deviation rate from the 25th moving average (36,422 yen, 37 sen = current) is over 5%.
Although some say that Japanese stocks are prone to daily adjustments due to the recent rapid rise, the upward trend continues, “It is only a matter of time before the (Nikkei average) hits a new all-time high.” (Iwai Cosmo Securities Investment Co., Ltd.) There are many views that Mr. Shoichi Arisawa, head of the research department). Arisawa believes, “The fundamentals of the Japanese economy are good, such as improving corporate performance and emerging from deflation, so it will be easy to test the upside once the adjustment cycle is over.”
TOPIX closed morning trading at 2,624.53 points, up 1.26%. The trading value on the TSE prime market was 3,715,131 million yen. Among the 33 industries on the TSE, 32 industries other than metal products saw their prices rise. The rise was notable in oil and coal products, mining, and insurance.
Individually, Fast Retailing (9983.T), opens new tab and Tokyo Electron (8035.T), opens new tab, which have large index contributions, were slightly higher. Advantest (6857.T), opens new tab fell slightly. SoftBank Group (9984.T), opens new tab was weak, down 1.7%. On the other hand, value stocks are solid, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T), opens new tab and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316.T), opens new tab performing well. Trading company stocks such as Mitsui & Co. (8031.T), opens new tab and Mitsubishi Corporation (8058.T), opens new tab also performed well.
In the prime market, 1,418 stocks rose (85%), 213 stocks fell (12%), and 26 stocks (1%) remained unchanged.
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