Nikkei Flat, Profit-Taking Halts Japan Rally
Japanese stocks gave up early gains and closed Wednesday's trading nearly flat, reflecting profit-taking after a strong rally that took the market to record levels. The Nikkei 225 edged up 0.01% to end at 64,999, while the Topix fell 0.52% to 3,918.
Externally, investors remained cautiously optimistic about the prospects for a US-Iran peace deal despite renewed hostilities in the Middle East. This geopolitical narrative remained a driver of risk sentiment, but it was not strong enough to sustain the domestic rally as valuations were already high and market participants opted to lock in profits.
Domestically, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda warned of rising inflationary pressures due to higher oil prices, but did not give a firm signal about the likelihood of an interest rate hike at the next policy meeting. The greatest pressure was seen in technology and AI-themed stocks, with Kioxia down 3.1%, SoftBank Group down 7.3%, and Fujikura down 3.6%. Several other heavyweight stocks also weakened, including Furukawa Electric (-6.7%) and Murata Manufacturing (-3.2%).
Source: Newsmaker.id
