Nikkei Rises 0.4%, Led by IT Services Stocks — Market Talk

The Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.4% to above 66,300 while the broader Topix Index gained 1% to 4,160 on Friday, recovering losses from the previous session and following a strong lead from Wall Street as Nvidia’s upbeat sales forecast strengthened the outlook for artificial intelligence-driven demand. Meanwhile, investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s Jackson Hole speech for clues about the path of US interest rates. In Japan, data showed the unemployment rate fell to 2.4% in July, the lowest in a year, while Tokyo’s inflation rate accelerated to a five-month high in August. Among individual stocks, notable gains came from Advantest (1.4%), Taiyo Yuden (2.2%) and Tokyo Electron (1.1%). In corporate news, Mizuho Bank has initiated legal action against Radiant World in Singapore’s Supreme Court over concerns that the iron ore trader had provided banks with falsified documents to obtain financing.