Nikkei Breaks 50,000 Again, Japanese Stocks Also Hot
Japanese stocks opened higher on Thursday morning, following positive sentiment on Wall Street after US economic data further strengthened the case for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. The Topix index rose 0.7% to 3,378.59 at 9:40 a.m. Tokyo time, with 1,057 stocks advancing, 512 declining, and 96 unchanged. SoftBank Group was the main driver of the index's rise, with its share price surging around 5.5%.
The Nikkei also rose 1.4% to 50,267.12, regaining ground above the psychologically important 50,000 level for the first time in a week. Stocks in the electrical equipment, banking, and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors were heavily purchased by market participants. This increase was in line with the strengthening of US technology stocks, particularly semiconductor companies, which had a positive spillover effect on related sectors in Japan.
According to Takashi Ito, senior strategist at Nomura Securities, the latest US economic data has slightly strengthened expectations for an interest rate cut, helping support the Nikkei in the 50,000 area. He added that the sharp surge in US semiconductor stocks has the potential to continue benefiting Japanese chip and technology stocks in the short term, as long as the Fed's "rate cut" narrative remains intact. (asd)
Source: Newsmaker.id
