Japan's Nikkei hits record high as chip-related shares jump

TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average rose to a record high on Wednesday, as gains in index heavyweight chip-related equities outweighed losses in financials and other value shares.

The Nikkei was up 1.25% at 65,811.78, as of 0147 GMT, after rising as much as 2.2% earlier in the day to hit a record intraday high of 66,428.81. The broader Topix edged 0.15% higher to 3,944.19.

“Investor money is concentrated on high-flying chip-related shares. Value shares are left out as there is no need to buy them when technology shares are giving solid returns,” said Kazuaki Shimada, chief strategist at IwaiCosmo Securities.

“The market mirrored the U.S. performance overnight, where semiconductor stocks led the rise and the Dow fell.”

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record closing highs on Tuesday, as AI-fuelled optimism offset anxiety over Middle East peace talks — concerns that were compounded by recent U.S. strikes on Iran. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.23%.

Also read: Japan’s Nikkei jumps past 65,000 mark for first time on Iran talks optimism

In Japan, chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron and chip-testing equipment maker Advantest rose more than 5% each.

Bucking the trend, SoftBank Group slipped 4.3%. Chip designer Socionext fell 5.8% to become the worst percentage loser on the Nikkei.

“Even within the AI-theme stocks, investors are rotating their targets,” said Shuutarou Yasuda, a market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory.

Bank shares fell, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group slipping 0.49% and 0.95%, respectively.

The Topix’s bank index declined 0.76%. The real estate index lost 1.48% to become the worst performer among the 33 industry sub-indexes.

Of the nearly 1,600 stocks trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s prime market, 44% rose, 52% fell, and 3% traded flat.