Surge in Japan's Market Stands Out
Japanese Market Shows Mixed Performance on August 1, 2025
The Japanese market exhibited a mixed trend on August 1, 2025, as the Nikkei 225 Index slipped by 0.4% due to a sharp decline in tech stocks, particularly semiconductor-related companies.
The Nikkei 225 Index, Japan's benchmark stock index, closed at 40,941.09, up 286.39 points or 0.70%. However, the tech sector, including companies like Tokyo Electron, experienced a severe loss, with Tokyo Electron gaining more than 1% on the day following a revised lower profit outlook due to reduced spending from semiconductor clients.
In contrast, other sectors such as utilities saw modest gains. The banking sector, which had shown positive momentum earlier in July from expectations of interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan, also saw some support. Mizuho Financial, for instance, gained more than 1% in the banking sector.
However, key factors influencing the market included global trade tensions, particularly tariff policies by the U.S., which continue to create uncertainty and suppress risk appetite across sectors. A rise in long-term interest rates and currency movements like yen appreciation have also affected economically sensitive sectors such as autos and retail.
In Europe, all major markets moved modestly higher on the day, with the German DAX, French CAC 40, and U.K.'s FTSE 100 inching up or closing just above the unchanged line.
Regarding individual companies, SoftBank Group's performance on this particular Thursday is not detailed in the available data. Fast Retailing, the operator of Uniqlo, is not specifically mentioned in the trading activity for this day. Toyota, as part of the autos sector, generally faces pressure from trade tensions and currency fluctuations, but specific daily performance details are not provided.
In other news, crude oil prices inched higher on Wednesday on hopes the U.S. can avoid a trade war, while the grace period for Russia to avoid sanctions on its energy trades was cut from 50 to 10 days. Industrial production in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 1.7% on month in June, and the value of retail sales in Japan was up 2.0% on year in June.
Screen Holdings advanced more than 3%, and for the second quarter of 2025, retail sales rose an annual 2.4% to 38.679 trillion yen. On Wall Street, the major averages showed a lack of direction over the course of trading on Wednesday, closing narrowly mixed.
The Bank of Japan is expected to announce its decision on interest rates after its monetary policy meeting on Thursday. The BoJ is expected to keep its benchmark lending rate steady at 0.50%. Sumitomo Metal Mining is losing almost 3%, while Tokyo Electron is gaining more than 1%. Other banking sector information is not mentioned in this paragraph.
Despite the overall mixed performance of the Japanese market on August 1, 2025, technology-related stocks, such as Tokyo Electron, experienced a severe loss. Concurrently, companies in sectors like utilities showed modest gains, while Mizuho Financial, for instance, gained more than 1% in the banking sector. However, the tech sector's poor performance was primarily attributed to reduced spending from semiconductor clients and global trade tensions, including tariff policies by the U.S.
