Nikkei 225 Rebounds on Chip Frenzy, but Narrow Breadth Sours the Recovery
Published on 07/09/2026 at 16:58 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
A furious rotation into semiconductor and artificial intelligence plays hauled the Nikkei 225 out of a three-day losing streak on Thursday, though the headline gain of nearly 1.4% belied a market where declining stocks outnumbered advancers by almost two to one. The benchmark closed at 67,743.85 after briefly vaulting past 68,000 during the morning session, propelled by short covering and a wave of demand for chip names following bullish signals from the United States. Yet beneath the surface, the rally was anything but broad: on the Prime Market, 146 stocks fell while only 77 rose, and daily turnover swelled to 9.6 trillion yen.
Chip-related heavyweights did the heavy lifting. Kioxia surged roughly 8% amid reports that its major shareholders are plotting a successful exit strategy, while Advantest and Tokyo Electron each advanced about 6%. Sentiment was juiced by a multibillion-dollar deal between Broadcom and Apple, alongside reports that Washington is easing Nvidia export restrictions to China. SoftBank also benefited from the tech tailwind, though its gains were more modest. The concentrated buying in a handful of megacap names meant the market breadth turned negative even as the index climbed, a pattern that analysts at Yamawa Securities warned could signal the correction in semiconductors is not yet over.
Energy-intensive sectors bore the brunt of selling pressure as Brent crude pushed towards $80 a barrel after former President Trump declared the U.S.-Iran ceasefire dead. Mitsubishi Materials plunged nearly 7% to lead the losers, while automakers Toyota and Honda each shed 2% on renewed fears of supply-chain disruption from Middle East tensions. A weakening yen—which slid to 162.50 per dollar following hawkish Federal Reserve minutes that pulled U.S. rate-hike expectations forward to October—provided a tailwind for exporters in theory, but also stoked imported inflation through costlier energy imports.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Nikkei 225?
From a technical perspective, the rebound put some distance between the index and its 50-day moving average near 65,900, where it had found support during the sell-off. The 14-day relative strength index climbed to 49.0, pulling the market out of oversold territory but still short of any overheating. The rebound also re-established the longer-term uptrend, though the index remains roughly 7% below its 52-week high of 72,831. The immediate challenge lies at the 68,000 resistance level; failure to break through convincingly could quickly reopen the door to Wednesday’s low of 66,819.
Looking ahead, investors are zeroing in on upcoming U.S. inflation data, which will reshape expectations for the interest-rate differential between the United States and Japan. The planned Nasdaq listing of SK Hynix will also serve as a real-time gauge of risk appetite in the global semiconductor space. For now, the Nikkei’s narrow rebound has staunched the bleeding, but the breadth data suggests the market is far from out of the woods.
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