Japan Market Daily | Kabutaro & Friends

The Nikkei 225 rallied for a third straight session on September 18, closing up 882.70 yen (+1.52%) at 65,018.95, reclaiming the 65,000 level for the first time in about a week. The TOPIX, by contrast, dipped slightly for the first time in three sessions, down 3.05 points to 4,091.14. At its policy meeting, the Bank of Japan raised its policy rate by 0.25 point to around 1.25%, in a 7-2 vote that matched market expectations, prompting a wave of buying in the afternoon session. By contribution, Advantest added about 436 yen, Tokyo Electron about 215 yen, Kioxia Holdings about 110 yen, Ibiden about 72 yen, and SoftBank Group about 55 yen. Semiconductor, semiconductor-equipment and AI-related shares led the rally, while KDDI, Terumo and Itochu declined. The dollar moved toward yen weakness after the BOJ's rate hike announcement, trading around 157.10 yen.