Nikkei 225 Closes Down 0.87
The Nikkei 225 index fell 0.4% to close at 39,376 on Tuesday, reversing earlier gains as semiconductor and related stocks came under pressure, mirroring moves in the U.S. market overnight. The decline came despite comments from Japanese Industry Minister Yoji Muto, who confirmed the government would not raise taxes to fund a 10 trillion yen stimulus plan for AI chipmakers.
The multi-year investment initiative aims to strengthen critical supply chains amid ongoing U.S.-China trade tensions. Losers among tech stocks were led by Disco (-2.1%), Advantest (-3.2%), Lasertec (-4.4%), Tokyo Electron (-2.8%) and Hitachi (-2.4%). In corporate news, SoftBank Group fell modestly by 1.1%, despite reporting a strong quarterly profit of 608.5 billion yen from its Vision Fund. On a brighter note, Nissan Motor jumped 12.8% after activist investor Effissimo disclosed a stake in the struggling automaker, fueling hopes of a potential turnaround.
Source: Trading Economics