The Nikkei 225 Index climbed 0.6% to move back above 63,000 on Wednesday, reversing earlier losses as robust corporate earnings and continued demand for artificial intelligence-related stocks buoyed sentiment. Many Japanese companies continued to deliver outlooks that exceeded expectations, despite geopolitical risks stemming from the conflict in the Middle East.
Japanese equities also decoupled from the tech-led selloff on Wall Street overnight, where stronger-than-expected US inflation data dampened hopes for imminent interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
Among the notable gainers, Kioxia Holdings rose 5.9%, Furukawa Electric jumped 15.5%, Fujikura added 2.4%, Sony Group advanced 5.6%, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries gained 3.3%. Olympus surged nearly 20% after issuing a profit forecast that beat expectations and unveiling a share buyback program. In contrast, Nidec slumped 15% following reports of suspected improper conduct related to product quality.