Nikkei 225 gains 1.10% as Advantest lifts Tokyo stocks

The Nikkei 225 rose 1.10% on Thursday, October 29, as semiconductor and artificial-intelligence-related shares recovered despite a volatile session. The index closed at 64,659.47 points, up 705.28 points from the previous session, according to the Nikkei Indexes daily summary.

Advantest drives the recovery

Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest was the main catalyst for the move. Reuters, in a report carried by Fidelity, said the company raised its full-year operating profit forecast by 14% after the market closed on Wednesday. Advantest contributed nearly two-thirds of the Nikkei's daily gain, reinforcing the market's sensitivity to expectations for semiconductor equipment demand.

Other large technology names also supported the benchmark by the close. Tokyo Electron gained 2.4%, while SoftBank Group rose 1.8%, Reuters reported. The move followed renewed optimism around AI-related demand after recent earnings updates in the semiconductor sector.

Market breadth remained mixed

The advance was not broad-based across all major components. Hitachi fell 9.8% and was the Nikkei's weakest percentage performer, despite raising its full-year profit forecast. The Nikkei Indexes summary recorded 132 advancing constituents, 92 decliners and one unchanged stock. This distribution indicates that the headline gain was supported by a concentrated group of influential technology shares rather than a uniform rise across the index.

BOJ decision remains the next test

Investors also positioned cautiously ahead of the Bank of Japan's policy announcement on Friday, October 30. Reuters reported that economists expected the central bank to leave rates unchanged, while the accompanying guidance was likely to shape expectations for future policy. A combination of further earnings releases and monetary-policy signals may therefore determine whether the AI-led recovery broadens or remains concentrated in a few index heavyweights.

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