Reuters

Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average Ends Higher on Tech Boost, Posts Eighth Weekly Gain in Nine (Update 1)

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
The Tokyo Stock Exchange

Reuters

12:22 JST, October 24, 2025 (updated at 16:30 JST)

TOKYO, Oct 24 (Reuters) – Japan’s Nikkei share average rose more than 1% on Friday, driven by index heavyweight tech stocks, and marked an eighth weekly gain in nine on positive expectations for fiscal dove Sanae Takaichi’s new government.

The Nikkei .N225 closed 1.35% higher at 49,299.65 after a sharp drop in the previous session. The broader Topix .TOPX rose 0.48% to 3,269.45.

For the week, the Nikkei has risen 3.6% and the Topix has gained 3.1%.

“Investors scooped up technology stocks that became cheap in the past several sessions,” said Shuutarou Yasuda, a market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory.

The Nikkei hovered near a record high, driven by a rally in AI-related stocks and buoyed by bets of economic stimulus from Takaichi, who was elected as Japan’s prime minister this week.

“Shares that move the Nikkei are rotating. Even as AI-related shares decline, investors scoop up other shares that are riding on the Takaichi trade,” said Yasuda.

On Thursday, technology shares sent the Nikkei lower, while investors snapped up defense stocks on bet that the new government would increase defense spending.

On Friday, technology investor SoftBank Group 9984.T jumped 5.69% to become the biggest boost for the Nikkei. Chip-related Advantest 6857.T and Tokyo Electron 8035.T gained 3.74% and 1.82%, respectively.

Optical fiber maker Fujikura5803.T, a gauge for investments in AI data centers, rose 3.94%, while peer Furukawa Electric 5801.T jumped 3.75%.

Nidec 6954.T slumped 3.55% to become the biggest percentage loser on the Nikkei, after the motor maker said it would not pay an interim dividend and withdrew its earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2026.

Of the more than 1,600 stocks trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s prime market, 41% rose, 54% fell, and 3% traded flat.

Wall Street advanced on Thursday amid a mixed batch of corporate earnings and shifting geopolitical concerns.