Tokyo stocks (midday): Nikkei extends losses sharply, swings wildly after falling more than 1,800 points before briefly turning positive

The Nikkei Stock Average closed the morning session down 939.75 points, or 1.46%, from the previous close at 63,239.52 yen, extending its decline for a second straight session. Morning volume on the Prime Market was about 1.2 billion shares, with turnover estimated at 6.1823 trillion yen. Decliners outnumbered advancers 1,263 to 276, with 24 issues unchanged.

Tokyo shares were highly volatile in morning trading. Military tensions between the U.S. and Iran flared after the U.S. launched retaliatory strikes following Iran's downing of an American military helicopter, prompting Iran to announce a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Sentiment was further dampened by overnight weakness in U.S. equities and a drop in Oracle in after-hours trading, sparking a strong risk-off mood at the open. The Nikkei briefly plunged over 1,800 points shortly after the opening bell before recovering on dip-buying, supported by reports that the U.S. had concluded its strikes, which briefly pushed the index into positive territory. However, lingering Middle East uncertainties weighed on the market ahead of the midday close, leaving roughly 80% of Prime Market stocks lower.

Among individual stocks, SoftBank Group Corp. <9984>, ADVANTEST CORPORATION <6857>, TDK Corporation <6762>, Fujikura Ltd. <5803>, FANUC CORPORATION <6954>, Lasertec corporation <6920>, and FAST RETAILING CO., LTD. <9983> all fell. ANYCOLOR Inc. <5032> was locked limit-down on sell-side interest only, while NICHICON CORPORATION <6996> and MUSASHI SEIMITSU INDUSTRY CO.,LTD. <7220> posted steep losses. Conversely, Kioxia Holdings <285A> traded firmly, while Tokyo Electron Limited <8035> and IBIDEN CO.,LTD. <4062> held steady. Ajinomoto Co., Inc. <2802> and TOPPAN Holdings Inc. <7911> posted significant gains.

Source: MINKABU PRESS

*Translated by generative AI. Click here for the original article.