[Nikkei Stock Average and TOPIX (Table)]

Nikkei average; 40047.15; +441.35.

TOPIX; 2733.81; +27.61.

[Sector]: Mining, insurance, banking, transportation equipment, wholesale trade, etc. are the top decliners, while pharmaceuticals, precision instruments, and electric and gas industries rose. The turnover of the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime includes Laser Tech <6920>, Mirrors HD <8897>, Kawasaki Shipbuilding <9107>, Dai-ichi Life HD <8750>, Recruit HD <6098>, Marubeni <8002>, Mitsui & Co. <8031>, Honda <7267>, SMC <6273>, INPEX <1605>, Nissan Motor <7201>, and Nomura <8604>, all of which fell. Meanwhile, Nitori Holdings <9843>, Rakuten Group <4755>, and Daiichi Sankyo <4568>, among others, have risen.

On the 15th, the Nikkei average started trading higher for the 4th consecutive day at 40,047.15 yen, up 441.35 yen from the previous day's close. In the U.S. stock market on the 11th, prior to the 3-day weekend, the Dow rose by 409.74 points, and the Nasdaq by 60.89 points, positively impacting the Tokyo market. The positive bank earnings and high expectations for major corporate earnings supported stock prices. Furthermore, the Producer Price Index (PPI) results did not significantly change the trajectory of rate cuts, providing reassurance. The Dow closed at 43,065.22, up 201.36 points, and the Nasdaq closed at 18,502.69, up 159.75 points on the 14th. Expectations for major corporate earnings continued, along with the rise of semiconductor Nvidia (NVDA) supporting stock prices.

Buying dominated the Tokyo stock market today. The Tokyo market was supported by a 1.44% increase in the Dow over 2 trading days during the U.S. market's 3-day weekend. Additionally, the Nasdaq Composite Index with a high tech stock ratio rose by 1.21%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX Index) consisting of major semiconductor-related stocks increased by 2.61%, supporting tech and semiconductor-related stocks in the Tokyo market. Moreover, the foreign exchange market had the dollar trading around 149.70 yen, slightly weaker yen and stronger dollar compared to last Friday at 3 pm, supporting export stocks. With today's announcement of the Lower House election, increased interest in policies and rising speculative interest were observed. On the other hand, with the Nikkei average surging over 600 yen in the past 3 days until the end of last week, profit-taking sales in the short term and waiting for a pullback were more likely. Approaching the milestone of 40,000 yen, there were concerns about limited short-term upside potential, but buying prevailed at the opening.

By sector, banking, insurance, metal products, electric appliances, and transportation equipment were among the top gainers, while mining, oil & coal products, and iron & steel declined. In the TSE Prime's top trading value, Chugai Pharmaceutical, SoftBank Group, Resona Holdings, Screen Holdings, Laser Tech, Rakuten Group, Tokio Marine Holdings, Mizuho Financial Group, Advantest, Recruit Holdings, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Toho Electric, and others rose. On the other hand, INPEX, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, SHIFT, IHI, 7&i Holdings, Nippon Steel, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Fujikura, Kawasaki Kisen, and others declined.