TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average rose more than 2% on Thursday, as chip giants Tokyo Electron and Advantest tracked their US peers higher and a weaker yen boosted exporters.
The Nikkei had gained 2.49% to 38,812.94 by the midday break, rising for a fifth session in six. The broader Topix was up 1.96% at 2,702.38.
“Gains in US chip stocks, particularly those of Microns, lifted Japanese chip shares,” said Kentaro Hayashi, a senior strategist at Daiwa Securities.
Shares of Micron Technology surged roughly 14% in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the company forecast higher-than-expected first-quarter revenue due to the thirst for its memory chips used in artificial intelligence computing.
The dollar held firm against the yen after gaining 1% overnight.
A weaker yen is seen as a boon for Japanese exporters as it lifts profits when earnings from abroad are brought home. Chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron surged 6.96% and was the biggest boost to the Nikkei.
Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest rose 5% and technology investor SoftBank Group climbed 4%.
Sony Group rose 2.36%. Nitori, the home interior goods retailer which relies on imports for most materials and tends to move along with the yen, eased 0.07%.
Minutes of the Bank of Japan’s July policy meeting were not hawkish, lifting sentiment of stock investors, said Hayashi.
Japan’s Nikkei ekes out gains in choppy trade
The minutes showed BOJ policymakers were divided on how quickly the central bank should raise interest rates further, highlighting uncertainty on the timing of the next increase in borrowing costs.
At the July meeting, the BOJ unexpectedly raised short-term interest rates to 0.25% by a 7-2 vote, taking another step towards phasing out a decade of huge stimulus.
Of the more than 1,600 stocks trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s prime market, 88% rose, 9% fell and 1% traded flat.
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