The Japanese stock market managed to break its weakening trend after the Nikkei 225 Index closed higher in trading on Thursday (7/30/2026). Tokyo's benchmark stock index rose 0.71 percent to 61,867.43, contrasting with the movement of several other Asian regional markets, such as South Korea's KOSPI index, which was under pressure.
Starting trade at 61,258.34, the index briefly corrected to a daily low of 61,049.70. However, massive buying activity pushed the Nikkei up to hit a daily high of 62,924.84, before pulling back slightly ahead of the market close. This movement ended a consecutive decline phase experienced by the Tokyo stock exchange during the previous two trading days.
Today's index resurgence was triggered by the stellar performance of the local technology and semiconductor sectors. Leading chip-testing equipment manufacturer, Advantest, fueled market optimism after projecting a 35 percent surge in annual operating profit, beating analysts' estimates. Advantest's shares skyrocketed 10.85 percent, which subsequently dragged up peer stocks like Tokyo Electron, which gained 4.3 percent, and Kioxia Holdings, which rose around 2.7 to 2.9 percent.
In addition to domestic factors, positive global sentiment also supported market movement. The U.S. Federal Reserve's (The Fed) decision to maintain its benchmark interest rate provided liquidity certainty that relieved investors. At the same time, the solid performance of Microsoft's Azure cloud computing business signaled positive prospects for global artificial intelligence (AI) investment. This triggered bargain hunting by market participants in Japan, even though Wall Street had experienced pressure the previous night.
