Japan's Nikkei gains on weaker yen; chip shares cheer TSMC earnings
ADVERTISEMENT The Japanese currency sank as much as 0.5% against the U.S. dollar, sliding towards Wednesday's 3-1/2-month nadir. A weak currency boosts the value of overseas revenues for heavyweight exporters.
Meanwhile, TSMC reported results that topped analyst forecasts during the Tokyo Stock Exchange's afternoon session. It undid some of the pessimism from Dutch chip-making tool supplier ASML's revenue warning, which had weighed on Japanese chip shares in the morning.
The tech-heavy Nikkei ended the day up 0.6% at 39,901.19, reversing earlier declines of as much as 0.7%. The broader Topix rose 0.7%. Silicon producer Sumco was the Nikkei's biggest percentage gainer with a 7% jump. AI-focused start-up investor SoftBank Group was the biggest support in index-point terms with a 2.3% increase.
ADVERTISEMENT Heavily weighted chip-testing machinery maker Advantest was the Nikkei's biggest drag after dropping 0.8%. Chip-making equipment manufacturer Lasertec was another standout loser, with a 4.8% tumble. ASML warned on Wednesday that it may not achieve revenue growth in 2026 as chipmakers building factories in the U.S. await clarity on the potential impact of tariffs.
ADVERTISEMENT For Japanese peers, "quarterly orders are likely to fluctuate but, based on the 12-month moving average, orders have not yet entered a recovery phase, similar to ASML," Jefferies analysts wrote in a research note on Wednesday. Orders for extreme ultraviolet lithography equipment, a key component in chipmaking, have been "stalled" since increasing "sharply" in the first half of last year, although a recovery is likely in 2026, they said.
ADVERTISEMENT The Nikkei's biggest decliner in percentage terms was Seven & i Holdings, which slumped 9.2% after Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard ended its takeover bid for the operator of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain.
The worst performer among the 33 Topix industry groupings was the mining sub-index, which includes oil explorers, which sank 1.0% with Brent oil languishing below $70 a barrel this week. The oil and coal sub-index lost 0.8%.
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