FX.co ★ Japan’s Nikkei Rises for Third Straight Session

On Thursday, the Nikkei 225 Index inched up by 0.2% to approximately 53,500, marking its third successive day of advancements, predominantly driven by gains in chip and memory stocks after encouraging signals from Wall Street. Notably, Advantest experienced a surge of over 10% thanks to record-breaking third-quarter sales and profits, powered by the strong AI-driven demand for System-on-Chip (SoC) and memory testers, prompting the company to elevate its full-year profit forecast by 21.4%. Meanwhile, Kioxia Holdings, a memory maker, soared 6% to hit a new peak, benefiting from a global upswing in memory stocks fueled by robust AI demand. Additionally, shares of export-driven companies showed signs of stabilization after facing recent pressures from a stronger yen, with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries rising by 2.8% and Toyota Motor edging up by 0.1%. Throughout this period, investors closely monitored the volatility in currency markets, as a strong yen usually exerts pressure on domestic equities. The landscape remained cautious, compounded by political uncertainty in anticipation of the lower house snap election scheduled for February 8.