Japan Market Daily | Kabutaro & Friends

On August 6, 2026, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell for the first time in three sessions, closing down 617.18 points (-0.93%) at 65,683.26, while the TOPIX rose 9.68 points to 4,055.85. Although the Dow extended its winning streak to five sessions in the US overnight, the Nasdaq and Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) fell, with AMD dropping 7.04% on its earnings and Alphabet declining 4.05% following the departure of a prominent AI researcher. This dragged on AI and semiconductor stocks including Kioxia Holdings in Tokyo, briefly pushing the Nikkei below 65,000. Losses were pared back in the afternoon on buying in strong-earnings stocks, with more than 70% of Prime Market issues ending higher. After the close, SoftBank Group reported April-June net profit of 347.3 billion yen, down 17.7% year-on-year. USD/JPY moved narrowly between 157.56 and 157.75, with little direction ahead of the US July jobs report due on the 7th. Oil (WTI) continued to fall, hovering around $75.56.