[Nikkei Average Stock Price・TOPIX (Table)]
Nikkei Average; 39176.88; -187.80
TOPIX; 2722.24; -5.96
[Market Opening Overview]
On the 18th, the Nikkei Average began trading at 39176.88 yen, down 187.80 yen, marking four consecutive declines. The U.S. stock market on the previous day, the 17th, declined. The Dow Average fell by 267.58 dollars to 43449.90 dollars, while the Nasdaq closed down 64.83 points at 20109.06. Due to persistently high long-term interest rates, there was a drop after the opening. Despite the U.S. retail sales for November released in the morning exceeding market expectations, and the view that the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) will not change its stance on interest rate cuts at the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), there are expectations that the pace of rate cuts may slow next year. Uncertainty about monetary policy ahead of the FOMC weighed on the market, leaving both the Dow Average and Nasdaq trading soft throughout the day.
Today, selling dominated the Tokyo stock market. The decline of major indices in the U.S. stock market yesterday weighed on stock prices in the Tokyo market. Moreover, in the foreign exchange market, the dollar was trading at around 153.60 yen, which was about 40 yen stronger for the yen compared to around 3:30 PM the previous day, putting pressure on stock prices of export companies in the Tokyo market. Additionally, some traders chose to refrain from aggressive buying in order to gauge the outcomes of the FOMC announcement scheduled for early tomorrow morning Japan time and the press conference by FRB Chairman Powell, as well as the announcement of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy decision and the press conference by Governor Ueda. On the other hand, the Nikkei Average had fallen nearly 500 yen over the past three consecutive days, making it susceptible to self-rebounding and buying on dips, but selling was dominant at the opening. It should be noted that the trade balance for November, released before the market opened, recorded a deficit of 117.6 billion yen. The median forecast compiled by QUICK was a deficit of 703 billion yen. Today, Kioxia Holdings <285A> was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Main Board.
In terms of sectors, Other Products, Information & Communications, Services, Electric Appliances, and Precision Instruments had the highest rates of decline, while Transportation Equipment, Electric & Gas, Marine Transportation, Nonferrous Metals, and Oil & Coal Products had the highest rates of increase. Regarding the top traded stocks on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Main Board, Sony Group Corp <6758>, Rakuten <4755>, Advantest <6857>, NINTENDO CO LTD <7974>, SoftBank Group <9984>, Tsukishima HD <6332>, Renesas <6723>, Socionext <6526>, Kddi Corporation <9433>, Honda <7267>, Sumitomo Mitsui <8316>, and Fast Retailing <9983> saw declines. Conversely, Nissan Motor <7201>, Mitsubishi Motors <7211>, Kawasaki Heavy <7012>, Daiichi Sankyo <4568>, Tokyo Electric Power HD <9501>, SUBARU CORP Unsponsored ADR <7270>, Sanrio <8136>, Disco <6146>, Toyota <7203>, Kansai Electric <9503>, Hulic <3003>, LaserTech <6920>, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines <9104>, and IHI <7013> were bought.