Nikkei average continues to rise at the start, supported by the high performance of American technology stocks. Seven & I Holdings soared more than 8%.

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US foreign exchange market summary: Softened to 153.29 yen at one point but rebounded.
On the 19th, the USD/JPY exchange rate in the New York foreign exchange market remained flat at around 154.66 yen per dollar compared to the previous day. The euro was trading lower against the yen at around 163.86 yen per euro, down about 7 yen. It was reported that the Ukrainian military attacked military facilities in western Russia using long-range surface-to-surface missiles provided by the USA, prompting Russian President Putin to revise the "National Policy Guidelines for Nuclear Deterrence" (nuclear doctrine) to indicate conditions for using nuclear weapons. Amidst this, the yen, considered a safe currency, was preferred, leading to a softening of the USD/JPY exchange rate to 153.29 yen in the evening Japan time.
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Outlook for Today: Continued Strength in the Dollar and Weakening Yen.

In October, the trade balance (customs basis) recorded a deficit of 461.2 billion yen, while the market expectation was a deficit of around 345.2 billion yen.
According to the preliminary trade statistics for October released by the Ministry of Finance on the 20th, the trade balance recorded a deficit of 461.2 billion yen. The market had anticipated a deficit of around 345.2 billion yen. Additionally, exports increased by 3.1% compared to the previous year, while imports increased by 0.4%.

Three major non-life insurance companies, the highest profit, accelerate the sale of policy stocks.
$Tokio Marine Holdings (8766.JP)$、 $MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings (8725.JP)$、 $Sompo Holdings (8630.JP)$The three major non-life insurance companies announced their interim consolidated earnings for September 2024 on the 19th. Against the background of profits from the sale of policy-owned stocks and strong overseas operations, the net profit of each company has set new record highs. The total amount for the 4-9 month period reached 1.2547 trillion yen, and the progress rate against the expected sales amount for the current period (FY25 ending in March 25) of 1.475 trillion yen was 85%.
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Tokio Marine Holdings - Selling pressure, upward revision of full-year net profit but consensus falls short.
MS&AD Holdings - Selling pressure, upward revision of full-year recurring profit but falls short of consensus.
SOMPO Holdings - Buying interest, upward revision of full-year net profit, also announces increased dividends.

Seven & i Holdings - buying indications. The founding family is adjusting to complete the acquisition within this fiscal year = NHK.
$Seven & i Holdings (3382.JP)$Buying indications. NHK reported that a special purpose company established by the founding family of the company has secured funds exceeding 8 trillion yen from three major banks and large financial institutions in the United States. They are proceeding with adjustments based on the plan to complete the TOB of the company's stock within this fiscal year.

Kobayashi Pharmaceutical - buying indications. Oasis Management increases its shareholding in the company, from a shareholding percentage of 5.20% to 7.54%.
$Kobayashi Pharmaceutical (4967.JP)$Buying indications. Oasis Management increased its shareholding in the company. This was revealed in a change report (5% rule) for November 19th. The shareholding percentage has increased from 5.20% to 7.54%.

Ad Test - conflicting buys and sells, speculations in anticipation of NVIDIA's earnings report.
$Advantest (6857.JP)$Conflicting buys and sells. The stock had advanced to the mid-9000 yen range with a temporary rise above 400 yen the previous day, but profit-taking sales from short-term traders are expected today, while resilient buying continues to support the downside. In the United States, market attention is focused on the earnings report of NVIDIA, a leading image processing semiconductor (GPU) giant, scheduled for the 20th of this month local time.