Japanese shares end higher on chip gains, earnings outlook

Japanese shares closed higher on Thursday, August 13, hitting a record high for the Topix as chip-related stocks followed US counterparts and a positive outlook on local firms boosted investor sentiment. The Nikkei rose 1.16 percent to 68,308.59, while the Topix surged 0.86 percent to a record high close of 4,176.04, extending gains to a seventh straight session.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both closed higher on Wednesday, buoyed by strong quarterly results from CoreWeave and other artificial intelligence infrastructure firms. Mild inflation data also reinforced expectations that the US Federal Reserve would hold interest rates steady in September. The PHLX Semiconductor Index jumped about 2.5 percent.

Analysts noted that when the SOX index rises, Japanese chip-related shares tend to follow, with Advantest, a chip-testing equipment maker, leading the charge with a 4.02 percent increase. Similarly, Ibiden, a supplier to AI giant Nvidia, saw a 5.27 percent rise. Other notable gains included Murata Manufacturing, a key player in multi-layer ceramic capacitors used in AI servers, which jumped 10.25 percent, and Toppan Holdings, which lifted the Nikkei with a 10.78 percent surge after reporting a more than doubled first-quarter net profit.

Banks, considered as value stocks, also climbed, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group both up nearly 3 percent. Among the Topix companies, approximately 18 percent raised their annual profit forecasts for the year, while just 2 percent lowered their forecasts. Overall, 64 percent of the more than 1,500 stocks traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's main market rose, 32 percent fell, and 3 percent remained unchanged.