TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei ended higher on Tuesday as chip stocks rallied after Nvidia’s plan to resume AI chip sales in China, with the benchmark shrugging off early caution over U.S. price data and the election outcome.
The Nikkei closed 0.55% higher at 39,678.02, after falling as much as 0.2% earlier in the session.
“Investors weighed U.S. price data due later in the day and the national election outcome earlier in the session,” saidSeiichi Suzuki, chief equity market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory.
“But the news on Nvidia lifted Japan’s chip-related stocks, which boosted the Nikkei.”
AI chip giant Nvidia said it will resume sales of its H20 graphics processing unit (GPU) chips to China and expects to get U.S. government licence soon.
Shares of chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron rose 3.49% to become the biggest source for the Nikkei’s gains.
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Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest reversed course to end 1.78% higher.
Cable makers, which are the gauge for the data centre investments, jumped, with Furukawa Electric climbing 6.49% to become the top percentage gainer. Fujikura gained 3.95%.
The broader Topix edged 0.09% higher to 2,825.31.
Global investors also await U.S. consumer price data for June, due later in the day, and will monitor for any upward pressure on prices from tariffs.
In Japan, markets are wary of a potential defeat for the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito in the upcoming upper house election on July 20.
A defeat could empower opposition parties that have pledged in their campaign platforms to cut or abolish the sales tax.
Air-conditioning maker Daikin Industries lost 2.6%, becoming the biggest drag on the Nikkei.
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