TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average inched higher on Thursday, as investors snapped up chip-related shares after Advantest raised its full-year profit forecast.
The Nikkei had risen 0.21% to 39,498.57 by the midday break.
After opening 0.28% lower, the benchmark moved between modest gains and losses during the session.
“DeepSeek shock has not completely faded, but investors were relieved to see the positive outlook of Advantest,” said Seiichi Suzuki, chief equity market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute.
Stronger Nasdaq futures during Asian trade also supported Japanese chip-related shares, said Suzuki.
Advantest, a supplier to US chipmaker Nvidia , hiked its full-year operating profit forecast by 37% on Wednesday due to strong demand for its testing tools for chips used in artificial intelligence tasks.
Shares of the chip-testing equipment maker were up 2.18% in volatile trade.
The stock opened lower on profit-booking before rising as much as 6.9%.
“Advantest still has not regained confidence from investors as the stock has not recouped its losses made in the past few sessions,” said Suzuki.
Japan’s Nikkei tracks Wall Street higher
The stock has lost 13% so far this week after the rising popularity of Chinese startup DeepSeek’s AI model called into question sky-high valuations for Nvidia and others at the forefront of the AI revolution.
Chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron rose 2.15% and silicon wafer maker Shin-Etsu Chemical gained 1.17%.
Technology start-up investor SoftBank Group fell 1.05% to weigh the most on the Nikkei. Of the 225 components of the Nikkei index, 128 stocks rose and 95 fell, with two trading flat.
The broader Topix inched up 0.15% to 2,779.78. Audio equipment and camera maker Sony Group fell 1.46% to weigh on the Topix the most.
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