TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average edged up on Thursday as chip-related shares tracked a rally in US semiconductor stocks, while NTT Data was set for a 17% jump following a takeover report.
The Nikkei added 0.23% to 36,863.15 by the midday break, after breaking a seven-day winning run on Wednesday.
The broader Topix fell 0.18% to 2,691.36 and was poised to snap a nine-session rising streak.
“The two main indexes have recouped their losses quickly (since US President Donald Trump’s tariff announcement last month), but the speed of the recovery has slowed down,” said Seiichi Suzuki, chief equity market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory.
“Investors have become cautious as the Nikkei approached the psychological level of 37,000.”
Overnight, US stocks rallied close to the closing bell as chipmakers jumped after Bloomberg reported Trump’s administration plans to rescind artificial intelligence chip curbs.
A US Commerce Department spokesperson subsequently confirmed the report.
Japan’s Nikkei bounces as US tariff fears ease, yen softens
The PHLX semiconductor index ended 1.7% higher after losing as much as 1% on the day. Japan’s chip-testing equipment maker Advantest rose 2.82% and chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron gained 1.32%.
NTT Data was untraded with a glut of buy orders after the Nikkei newspaper reported telecom giant NTT plans to launch a tender offer worth up to 3 trillion yen ($20.88 billion) to buy the remaining shares in NTT Data.
NTT Data, which provides data networks, was bid at the daily upper limit of 3,492 yen, a 17% jump on Wednesday’s close of 2,991.5 yen.
With the Nikkei average futures crossing the 37,000 level, the bid on NTT Data may continue through the next session, Suzuki said.
Drug maker Torii Pharmaceutical surged 13.62% after peer Shionogi said it would acquire Torii, a subsidiary of Japan Tobacco, for more than 150 billion yen.
Shipping firm Mitsui OSK Lines fell 3.2% to become the biggest percentage loser on the Nikkei, followed by technology investor SoftBank Group, which lost 2.36%.
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