Nikkei Rises, But Japanese Markets Remain Concern-Filled
The Nikkei 225 index rose around 0.27% to 50,582, while the Topix index strengthened 0.65% to 3,384 in Monday trading. These gains helped recoup some of the previous session's losses, driven by positive sentiment stemming from strong expectations that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this week. The prospect of lower interest rates in the US is usually good news for global risk assets, including Japanese stocks. However, investors remain cautious as they monitor rising geopolitical tensions between Japan and China, which could trigger renewed market volatility.
At the same time, the market is also digesting less encouraging domestic economic data. Japan's real wages fell for the 10th consecutive month in October, while third-quarter (Q3) economic growth contracted more sharply than initially expected. This situation makes the prospect of a Bank of Japan (BoJ) interest rate hike next week increasingly uncertain. On the stock side, several issuers recorded significant gains, including Kioxia Holdings (7.6%), Fujikura (7%), Mitsubishi Heavy (3.1%), Disco Corp (3%), and Sanrio (4.2%). Conversely, AI-related stocks experienced significant corrections due to continued concerns about high valuations, with SoftBank Group plunging around 3.3%. (az)
Source: Newsmaker.id
