Japanese stocks rose on Wednesday as artificial intelligence (AI)-related stocks rallied and hopes for a US interest rate cut grew. The Topix index rose 2% to 3,355.50 as of 3:30 p.m. Tokyo time, while the Nikkei 225 gained 1.8% to 49,559.07. Of the 1,668 stocks on the Topix index, 1,471 rose, only 166 fell, and 31 remained unchanged.
The positive sentiment was largely driven by comments from Fed Governor Christopher Waller, who supported a December interest rate cut. This statement fueled speculation that borrowing costs in the US would fall, making the global investment climate more risk-friendly. Analyst Kazuhiro Sasaki of Phillip Securities Japan cited expectations of a US interest rate cut, along with Wall Street's gains, as key factors in the rise in Japanese stocks.
In the stock sector, banking and electronics were the market drivers. Bank stocks rallied amid growing speculation that Japan could also move toward higher interest rates after years of extremely loose policy. Conversely, automotive stocks were restrained and did not rally as aggressively as other sectors.
Sony Group was the largest contributor to the Topix's gains, with its shares rising 3.1%. However, not all stocks followed the positive trend. Ibiden was one of the Nikkei's biggest drags, falling 3.8%, indicating continued selective action among market participants.
Buying interest also poured into SoftBank Group and other AI-related stocks. Investors responded positively to reports that Meta Platforms was in talks to invest billions of dollars to use Google's AI chips. This news re-emerged the AI theme in the Japanese stock market and added fuel to the tech stock rally. (asd)
Source: Newsmaker.id
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