Japan Market Daily | Kabutaro & Friends

On August 4, 2026, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rebounded, closing up 202.63 points (+0.32%) at 63,957.53, while the TOPIX was little changed at 3,961.78. Supported by a partial reversal toward yen weakness, semiconductor, machinery, and heavy-industry stocks (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Fujikura, among others) that had fallen sharply the previous day rebounded, while banks, insurers, and trading companies remained weak even among those with strong earnings, as buying concentrated in large-cap tech names pushed the Nikkei/TOPIX (NT) ratio up to 16.14. In currency markets, suspected government and Bank of Japan yen-buying intervention drove USD/JPY down to 155.21 in Asian trading; Finance Minister Katayama said Japan was coordinating closely with the US Treasury and would not hesitate to conduct further joint intervention, and US Treasury Secretary Bessent likewise posted on X that the US stood ready to join future coordinated intervention. The pair later rebounded to 156.23 amid risk-off yen buying and falling oil futures after President Trump announced he was calling off a planned large-scale attack on Iran over the weekend and would resume talks. However, a stronger-than-expected US July ISM Manufacturing Index and a rally in US stocks on the avoided Iran strike pushed USD/JPY back up, ending at 157.80-157.82 at 5pm, up 1.04 yen from the previous day. Oil (WTI) briefly fell to $76.48 in New York trading.