Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average Rebound in Broad-Based Buying after Three Days of Losses

Reuters

12:15 JST, March 5, 2026

TOKYO, March 5 (Reuters) – Japanese shares rose sharply on Thursday in broad-based buying, as the market tried to stabilize after a three-session losing streak sparked by the Middle East war, with sentiment also bolstered by Wall Street’s overnight gains.

The Nikkei 225 Index .N225 was up 2.6% at 55,666.2, as of 0222 GMT, after surging as much as 4.4% earlier in the day. The broader Topix .TOPX was 2.5% higher at 3,724.19 after rallying nearly 4% earlier.

The Nikkei fell to a one-month low on Wednesday, as part of a broader selloff in Asian equities and shedding 7.8% over the three sessions to that day, with investors selling risk assets amid the Middle East conflict and booking profits after record highs.

“Japanese shares had been falling fairly sharply… but looking at things like the U.S. stock market the day before and the oil market, it seems to have regained its composure for the moment,” said Shuutaro Yasuda, a market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory.

U.S. stocks closed higher overnight, after a report that Iran had signaled openness to talks and a pledge by President Donald Trump to steady oil markets calmed investor anxiety about the Mideast clash.

Semiconductor-related heavyweights rose sharply on Thursday, with chip-testing equipment maker Advantest 6857.T gaining 5% and chip-making machinery manufacturer Tokyo Electron 8035.T up 4%. SoftBank Group 9984.T, a technology and investment conglomerate, climbed 5.3%.

All 33 industry indexes under the Tokyo bourse advanced, led by a 5% gain in the banking sector. The oil sector .IPETE.T, including Japan’s biggest refiner Eneos Holdings 5020.T, advanced 2.8%.

Shin-Etsu Chemical 4063.T shares were up 5.5% after rising as much as 8.3% earlier after the Nikkei newspaper reported that the chemical maker would invest $3.4 billion in the United States to expand production of feedstocks used for vinyl chloride resin used in housing pipes.

There were 202 advancers on the Nikkei index and 23 decliners.