Japan Market Daily | Kabutaro & Friends

On August 7, 2026, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell slightly for a second straight session, closing down 76.55 points (-0.12%) at 65,606.71, while the TOPIX rose 19.08 points to 4,074.93. SoftBank Group, which had reported April-June net profit down 17.7% year-on-year to 347.3 billion yen after the previous day's close, fell sharply, and Lasertec also plunged after its full-year profit guidance came in below market expectations, briefly pushing the Nikkei down more than 1,000 points. However, buying in strong-earnings stocks kept more than 70% of Prime Market issues higher. USD/JPY traded narrowly in the mid-to-high 157 range. Market attention was focused on the US July jobs report due at 9:30pm Japan time (market consensus: non-farm payrolls +80,000, unemployment rate 4.2%), and position-squaring ahead of the weekend was limited. Oil (WTI) hovered in the $75 range.