TOKYO: Japan’s broad Topix index of shares climbed for a second straight day on Thursday as higher energy prices boosted commodities producers, while chip-related stocks weighed on the benchmark Nikkei gauge.
Trading company Mitsui & Co added 2.75% after prices for oil and metals rose. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group added 3.28% as gains in Treasuries added to the value of their U.S. bond portfolios.
Chip industry heavyweights Advantest and Tokyo Electron sank 4.4% and 2.72%, respectively, trimming a recent surge driven by euphoria over artificial intelligence.
Nikkei reverses course to end higher on bargain-buying; SoftBank leads
The Topix index added 0.63% to 2,309.58 at the midday break. The Nikkei was in the red for most of the session before closing flat at 33,575.63.
The blue-chip heavy Nikkei has soared 29% this year and earlier this week touched a 33-year high. Foreigners were net buyers of Japanese shares for an 11th-straight week through June 17, government data showed on Thursday.
“The Nikkei was up 10 weeks in a row as of last week’s close. That’s unusual,” said Quiddity Advisors analyst Travis Lundy, who publishes on the Smartkarma platform. “The Nikkei has a fair bit of tech in it, and tech has been flying. When tech takes a breather, the Nikkei does too.”
Among Nikkei constituents, 175 companies advanced, while 48 declined.
Panasonic was a stand-out on the gauge, climbing 2.49% after its energy unit said on Wednesday it was in talks to supply batteries to power Mazda Motor’s electric vehicles. Mazda shares added 0.43%
Commodities trading companies added 2.58% to become the best performer among the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s 33 industry sub-indexes. Precision machinery makers were the biggest losers, declining 0.4%.
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