Japan's Nikkei wavers on earnings caution
- The Nikkei was last down 0.04% to 62,337.37 after swaying between gains and losses
TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average seesawed on Wednesday, as the impact of dip-buying was offset by caution ahead of US tech earnings and as investors assessed the latest developments in the Middle East.
The Nikkei was last down 0.04% to 62,337.37 after swaying between gains and losses.
The broader Topix inched up 0.33% to 3,976.55.
On Tuesday, the Nikkei bluechip fell more than 4% to its lowest in two months on a chips selloff.
“The market will likely continue to be driven today by moves in AI chip-related stocks,” said Maki Sawada, an equity strategist at Nomura Securities.
“Even if there is no specific catalyst, the Nikkei average could see wider intraday swings as AI chip-related and other high-priced stocks have become more volatile ahead of earnings announcements. That pattern is likely to continue today.”
AI-related shares were mostly lower, with Murata Manufacturing down nearly 10%, Tokyo Electron shedding 6.19% and SoftBank Group losing 5.75%.
The Nikkei has closely tracked moves in South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI and the US Philadelphia semiconductor index.
The tech-heavy KOSPI fell after SK Hynix reported bumper quarterly results that nevertheless fell short of elevated investor expectations.
The US chip index was down almost 4.5% overnight on Tuesday.
Investors were awaiting earnings from US tech heavyweights, with Microsoft due to report on Wednesday and Amazon on Thursday.
In Japan, a heavily weighted Nikkei component, Advantest , a chip-testing equipment maker, is scheduled to announce results after the market closes on Wednesday.
The US military said on Tuesday it intercepted multiple ballistic missiles launched by Iran towards US forces in the Middle East.
Oil prices rose by more than $2 a barrel in early trade on shrinking US crude inventories.
Meanwhile, Keyence surged as much as 15.42%, becoming the Nikkei’s biggest percentage gainer, after the factory automation sensors and systems provider reported robust earnings.
Video games and entertainment company Konami gained 8.81% and Shiseido, a global cosmetics and skincare company, rose 5.41%.
Market breadth was positive, with 135 gainers against 89 decliners.
Shares of companies affected by Tuesday’s magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Kumamoto, southern Japan, including retailer Aeon and Nippon Paper Industries, showed limited reaction.
The earthquake killed at least 13 people near Kumamoto and rescuers are frantically searching for survivors trapped beneath the rubble, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said.
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