Hot Japanese Stocks and Entertainment

Nikkei 225 Summary Japan Q2 GDP 1% surprise leads Nikkei to new high; Dow rises as Buffett piles into embattled Unitedhealth Group with a murdered CEO - Fri 15 Aug 2025 MUFG (+6.01%) leads banks higher as the Nikkei hits a new high again after Japan's Q2 GDP rises by a surprising 1.0%, showing Bushido resilience amid punishing Trump tariffs. Meanwhile, Dow rises after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway buys 5 million shares ($1.57 billion) in embattled Unitedhealth Group in June 2025. The health care provider reported a disappointing Q2 and its CEO, Brian Thompson, was shot and killed on December 4, 2024, outside the New York Hilton Midtown.  Nikkei225  43,378.31 (+729.05 +1.71%) 177 up 46 down 2 flat JGB 10YR   1.548% (+0.028)             USD/JPY    147.87 (+0.49 +0.33%)  

Nikkei 225 Summary Defense stocks lead losses as Nikkei pullbacks; Wall Street rally pauses after hot producer prices - Thu 14 Aug 2025 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (-5.69%) leads defense stocks lower as Putin-Trump prepares to meet to end the Ukraine war. Meanwhile, Wall Street's rally pauses as hot July Producer Price Index of 0.9% stokes fear of sticky inflation.  Nikkei225  42,649.26 (-625.41 -1.45%) 48 up 173 down 4 flat JGB 10YR   1.548% (+0.028)             USD/JPY    147.87 (+0.49 +0.33%)  

Nikkei 225 Summary Nikkei rallies to another record high; Wall Street rises for a second day for Fed rate cut - Wed 13 Aug 2025 Nikkei stages a broad-based rally to a new record high on heavy volume trading today, firmly crossing the 43,000 mark at close. Meanwhile, Wall Street rises for a second day on Fed rate cut hopes. Nikkei225  43,274.67 (+556.50 +1.30%) 151 up 74 down 0 flat JGB 10YR   1.515% (+0.016)             USD/JPY    147.30 (-0.53 -0.3585%)    

Nikkei 225 Summary Hello Kitty leads Nikkei to record high; Wall Street jumps on soft July inflation; Sep Fed rate cut expected - Tue 12 Aug 2025 Owner of Hello Kitty and other popular characters, Sanrio (+16.11%) leads Nikkei to a new record high on heavy volume after reporting a +37.8% surge in Q1 FY25 net profit. Meanwhile, Wall Street jumps after July CPI comes in at 2.7% annualised, softer than expected, raising hopes of a dream-come-through Sep Fed rate cut to a near certainty. Nikkei225  42,718.17 (+897.69 +2.15%) 174 up 50 down 1 flat JGB 10YR   1.504% (+0.014)             USD/JPY    147.69 (-0.45 -0.3038%)  

Nikkei 225 Summary Softbank Group soars 10.39% leading Nikkei; Wall Street rises as Trump economic advisor Stephen Miran joins Fed board to press for rate cuts - Fri 8 Aug 2025 Softbank Group soars (+10.39%) hitting new record highs last seen in Feb 2000's Dotcom Boom after reporting Q1 FY25 net income of 421.8 bln yen, an increase of +342%, as Softbank Vision Fund's AI bets takes off. The Trump administration has also indicated that it will issue an Executive Order to reflect the lower 15% tariffs on Japanese automakers as agreed in the US-Japan trade deal.   Meanwhile, Wall Street rises as President Trump's top economic adviser, Stephen Miran, gets appointed as a Fed Reserve board member to press for an early Fed rate cut in Sep 2025. Nikkei225  41,820.48 (+761.33 +1.85%) 178 up 46 down 1 flat JGB 10YR   1.489% (-0.001)             USD/JPY    147.69 (+0.59 +0.40%)

Nikkei 225 Summary Medical platform M3 leads Nikkei; Wall Street falls as Trump tariffs kick in - Thu 7 Aug 2025 Online medical services platform M3 Inc (+22.03%) leads gainers on renewed investor interest as Japan sees a record population decline of -908,000 in 2024 and demand for medical services continue to grow among an ageing population.  Meanwhile, Wall Street falls as President Trump's reciprocal tariffs kick in for all imports. Nikkei225  41,059.15 (+264.29 +0.65%) 161 up 63 down 1 flat JGB 10YR   1.481% (-0.012)             USD/JPY    147.41 (+0.06 +0.04%)  

Nikkei 225 Summary Property play Mitsui Fudosan leads Nikkei higher; Wall Street rises on McDonald’s strong Q2 sales beat - Wed 6 Aug 2025 Mitsui Fudosan (+5.85%) leads gainers after Q1 FY25 net profits surged 91.1% with property sales rising significantly, reaching new record highs.   Meanwhile, Wall Street rises as the earnings season continues to stay strong with McDonald’s global Q2 sales beating estimates. Nikkei225  40,794.86 (+245.32 +0.60%) 180 up 44 down 1 flat JGB 10YR   1.499% (+0.025)             USD/JPY    147.00 (-0.60 -0.4065%)  

Nikkei 225 Summary MHI leads Nikkei after winning 6.5bln Australian Navy contract; Wall Street falls on weakening services sector - Tue 5 Aug 2025 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (+5.72%) leads gainers after winning a $6.5 billion contract to jointly develop 11 new frigates with the Australian Navy.  Meanwhile, Wall Street falls after the Institute for Supply Management's purchasing managers' index for services unexpectedly contracted in July, stoking fears of a weakening economy amid sticky inflation.  Nikkei225  40,549.54 (+258.84 +0.64%) 169 up 54 down 2 flat JGB 10YR   1.474% (-0.035)             USD/JPY    147.63 (+0.55 +0.37%)  

Nikkei 225 Summary Nikkei declines as auto tariffs not cut yet; Wall Street rebounds on hopes of early Fed rate cut - Mon 4 Aug 2025 Nintendo (+5.12%) leads gainers on recent earnings surge in Q1 due to excitement for the new switch 2 console. Yamaha (-8.00%) leads losers as US tariffs is expected to dent its profits severely for its musical instrument and motorbike exports. Meanwhile, Wall Street rebounds strongly on hopes of an early rate cut by the Fed in Sep; current odds of this happening has jumped to 90%. Nikkei225  40,290.70 (-508.90 -1.25%) 48 up 174 down 3 flat JGB 10YR   1.506% (-0.048)             USD/JPY    146.96 (-0.40)  

Nikkei 225 Summary Nikkei declines on tech slowdown; Wall Street pulls back on weak July jobs report - Fri 1 Aug 2025 Tokyo Electron (-18.02%) leads losers after it downgrades its profit forecast as clients delay new semiconductor equipment purchases amid uncertain trade policies. Meanwhile, Wall Street pulls back on weaker than expected July jobs report of 73,000 and the resumption of reciprocal tariffs on countries without trade deals from 7 Aug. Nikkei225  40,799.60 (-270.22 -0.66%) 171 up 54 down 0 flat JGB 10YR   1.559% (+0.004)             USD/JPY    150.83 (+1.33 +0.89%)

Nikkei 225 Summary BOJ holds rates at 0.5%; Nikkei extends gains on heavy volume; Nasdaq higher on Facebook and Microsoft Q2 earnings beat - Thu 31 Jul 2025 Logistics firm Yamato (+12.77%) leads gainers as it ties up with Mitsubishi Motors and Ample to pilot battery swapping EVs in Tokyo from September 2025. BOJ governor Kazuo Ueda holds rates steady at 0.5% in view of uncertainties over the implementation of the US-Japan trade deal and underlying demand-driven inflation that's still below the BOJ target of 2%. Meanwhile, S&P500 and Nasdaq trading higher in the morning on Facebook and Microsoft's Q2 earnings beat. However, minor gains were erased with a weak close today. Nikkei225  41,069.82 (+415.12 +1.02%) 178 up 46 down 1 flat JGB 10YR   1.556% (-0.003)             USD/JPY    150.72 (+1.22 +0.82%)  

Nikkei 225 Summary Nikkei attempts rebound on heavy volume buying; Wall Street modestly higher as Q2 GDP beats expectations; Fed holds rates steady - Wed 30 Jul 2025 Cable maker for data centers Fujikura (+8.90%) leads the AI trade higher as Nikkei attempts a rebound on heavy volume buying. Meanwhile, Wall Street is modestly higher as Fed holds rates steady and US Q2 GDP grew 3% beating expectations. Nikkei225  40,654.70 (-19.85 -0.05%) 155 up 67 down 3 flat JGB 10YR   1.559% (-0.001)             USD/JPY    148.84 (+0.40 +0.27%)  

Nikkei 225 Summary Nikkei declines on profit taking for 3rd day; Wall Street cautious awaiting Facebook, Microsoft earnings - Tue 29 Jul 2025 Nikkei declines as broad-based profit taking continues for a third day. Meanwhile, Wall Street is modestly lower as the Fed's policy meeting starts; investors keenly await Facebook and Microsoft's earnings calls Wednesday. Nikkei225  40,674.55 (-323.72 -0.79%) 43 up 180 down 2 flat JGB 10YR   1.57% (+0.007)             USD/JPY    148.51 (-0.02 -0.0135%)  

Nikkei 225 Summary Nikkei extends decline on profit taking; Wall Street cautiously flat ahead of Fed meeting - Mon 28 Jul 2025 Nikkei extends its decline for a second day on continued broad-based profit taking. Meanwhile, Wall Street is trading flat ahead of the Fed's policy meeting on Tue, Wed (29-30 July); investors are keen to know if Fed chair Powell will bow to Trump's pressure to cut interest rates in July. Nikkei225  40,998.27 (-457.96 -1.10%) 98 up 126 down 1 flat JGB 10YR   1.554% (-0.047)             USD/JPY    148.48 (+0.82 +0.56%)  

Nikkei 225 Summary Nikkei falls on profit taking; Wall Street hopes for EU-US trade deal over weekend - Fri 25 Jul 2025 Mitsubishi Motors (-7.87%) leads automakers lower as it reports a 84% decline in Q1 profits. Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co. (+3.46%) leads gainers as traders rotate into the mining sector.   Meanwhile, Wall Street trades modestly higher on a possible EU-US trade deal over the weekend.  Nikkei225  41,456.23 (-370.11 -0.88%) 54 up 169 down 2 flat JGB 10YR   1.601% (+0.001)             USD/JPY    147.62 (+0.62 +0.42%)  

Nikkei 225 Summary Nikkei extends Japan-US trade deal rally; Wall Street cheers Google Q2 earnings beat - Thu 24 Jul 2025 Resona (+6.36%) leads banks higher as the Nikkei rally extends for a second day after the announcement of the Japan-US trade deal.  Meanwhile, S&P500 and Nasdaq edge higher, cheering Google's Q2 earnings beat on growing demand for its cloud services. Nikkei225  41,826.34 (+655.02 +1.59%) 196 up 27 down 2 flat JGB 10YR   1.603% (+0.008)             USD/JPY    146.78 (+0.29 +0.20%)

Nikkei 225 Summary Nikkei soars 1,396 points on Japan-US trade deal; Wall Street optimistic for US-EU trade deal - Wed 23 Jul 2025 Automaker Toyota soars +14.34% on the announcement of a new Japan-US trade deal, reducing tariffs on imported cars from 25% to 15%. MUFG jumps +4.88%, leading the banking sector higher on renewed optimism for the Japanese economy and probability of more rate hikes in 2025.  Meanwhile,  Wall Street trends higher as investors grow increasingly optimistic about a EU-US trade deal before 1st Aug. Nikkei225  41,171.32 (+1,396.40 +3.51%) 212 up 13 down 0 flat JGB 10YR   1.594% (+0.091)             USD/JPY    146.46 (-0.17 -0.1159%)  

Nikkei 225 Summary Nikkei rallies in morning; Nasdaq retreats as AI project Stargate scales down - Tue 22 Jul 2025 Nikkei attempts a broad-based rally in the morning, briefly topping 40,000, before closing the day in the negative on profit taking. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries jumps +6.20% as its chairman Izumisawa Seiji pitches MHI's Mogami-class frigate to the Australian Navy. The Australians are planning to add 11 more frigates to its Navy with Germany as the other shortlisted country competing for the new orders; joint development is also a possibility. Meanwhile, Nvidia leads Nasdaq lower as mega AI project Stargate scales down to a single, smaller data center for the current phase of development.   Nikkei225  39,774.92 (-44.19 -0.11%) 100 up 124 down 1 flat JGB 10YR   1.515% (-0.011)             USD/JPY    146.55 (-0.83 -0.5632%)  

Nikkei 225 Summary Sumco leads Nikkei's broad-based rise; Wall Street cheers growing Jun retail sales - Thu 17 Jul 2025 Silicon wafer maker Sumco (+7.03%) leads the Nikkei higher on a broad-based advance today.  Meanwhile, Wall Street moves higher cheering a +0.6% growth in Jun retail sales versus a -0.9% contraction in May.      Nikkei225  39,901.19 (+237.79 +0.60%) 174 up 50 down 1 flat JGB 10YR   1.555% (-0.015)             USD/JPY    148.68 (+0.82 +0.55%)

Nikkei 225 Summary Nikkei flat pending PM Ishiba's meeting with US Treasury Secretary Bessent; Wall Street rebounds after Trump denies firing Powell - Wed 16 Jul 2025 Nikkei trading flat today pending the outcome of PM Ishiba's meeting with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Tokyo on Friday; investors are looking forward to an early trade deal between Japan and US. Film maker Toho jumps (+10.91%) leading gainers after the company upgrades its profit outlook for the year.  Meanwhile, Wall Street rebounds into the green after Trump denies plans to fire Fed chair Powell real soon.   Nikkei225  39,663.40 (-14.62 -0.04%) 80 up 141 down 4 flat JGB 10YR   1.574% (-0.016)             USD/JPY    147.70 (-1.16 -0.7793%)