OSAKA Titanium technologies Co.,Ltd <5726> continued its sharp rise. Amid the volatile market conditions, the stock surged to \2,886 at one point, up \258. Risk aversion sentiment has intensified in the stock market following U.S. President Trump's speech on Middle East affairs. As expectations for an early ceasefire with Iran have receded, funds are shifting to defense-related stocks. As a leading global producer of high-quality sponge titanium, the company is attracting attention. "Hot money is flowing into the stock on speculation that demand for titanium, which has strengths in high durability and light weight for aerospace applications (fighter jets, drones, missiles), will increase," said a strategist at a mid-tier securities firm. The fact that the stock's all-time high of \15,060 (adjusted price) reached in March 2007 remains far above current levels appears to be fueling speculation of a major rally.

TAIHEIYO KOUHATSU INCORPORATED <8835> rebounded sharply. Fertilizer-related stocks including Katakura & Co-op Agri Corporation <4031> and TAKI CHEMICAL CO.,LTD. <4025> turned positive. On the morning of the 2nd Japan time, President Trump delivered a speech to the American people. While indicating that "core strategic objectives" regarding military action against Iran are being achieved, he also stated that extremely strong attacks would be carried out against Iran over the next two to three weeks. Following the speech, optimism that the Middle East conflict would end soon retreated. Speculation has rekindled over the profit-boosting effects for fertilizer companies from fertilizer price increases, along with concerns about prolonged supply disruptions of fertilizer raw materials from the Middle East, apparently triggering short covering.

WORKMAN CO.,LTD. <7564> rose for the third consecutive day. The company's monthly sales report for March, released after trading on the 1st, showed same-store sales up 22.7% year-on-year, exceeding the previous year's results for the third consecutive month, which was well received. Recovery wear performed strongly and drove sales due to promotional effects including TV commercials. In addition, spring and summer products, centered on casual wear, got off to a solid start as temperatures rose. Total sales increased 28.4% year-on-year.

HPC SYSTEMS Inc. <6597> hit the daily limit up. After trading on the 1st, the company announced it had secured a large order for a complete set of HPC (High Performance Computing) servers, which was well received. The project consists of multiple components with a total order value of \13.8 billion. Sales will be recorded sequentially in the fiscal years ending June 2027 and June 2028 in accordance with project progress.

Space development-related stocks surged. Space development-related stocks such as QPS Holdings and Astroscale Holdings strengthened their upward momentum. On the afternoon of the 1st Eastern Time (around 7:40 a.m. Japan time), NASA launched a lunar exploration rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. As part of the Artemis program aimed at returning humans to the moon, this mission attracted significant attention as the first manned lunar exploration in approximately half a century, although no lunar landing will take place this time. The launch was successful, and the mission will orbit the moon for about 10 days before returning to Earth. Following the successful rocket launch, investment funds have accelerated into space-related ventures in the Tokyo market.

WASHINGTON HOTEL CORPORATION <4691> hit the daily limit up on speculation. It was revealed that APA Holdings (Minato-ku, Tokyo) filed a large shareholding report with the Kanto Local Finance Bureau dated the 1st, emerging as a major shareholder of WASHINGTON HOTEL. According to the report, together with joint holders APA Hotel (Minato-ku, Tokyo) and APA Resort (same location), the group acquired a total of 5.08% through on-exchange and off-exchange transactions. The purpose of ownership is stated as "pure investment." The date the reporting obligation arose was March 25th. This has apparently sparked speculative buying.

*This article may contain unconfirmed information. Please make your own investment decisions at your own risk.

Source: MINKABU PRESS