FX.co ★ Japanese Stocks Follow Gains on Wall Street

The Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.4% to above 62,400 on Thursday, partially reversing the prior session’s decline and mirroring gains on Wall Street. Risk appetite improved after Democratic gains in the US midterm elections sent oil prices sharply lower, as investors grew more optimistic about a possible resolution to the Middle East conflict.

In Japan, retailers and automakers led the rebound, with strong advances from Fast Retailing (9.5%), Nintendo (5.3%) and Toyota Motor (6.9%). Banking shares also strengthened, including Mitsubishi UFJ (3.2%) and Sumitomo Mitsui (1.7%).

By contrast, technology and artificial intelligence-related names lagged, as investors assessed how Democratic control of the US Congress might affect data-center development. Among the notable decliners were Kioxia Holdings (-7.3%), Advantest (-8.5%) and SoftBank Group (-6.2%).