Market Update
Japan's Indexes Closed at New Highs Following Records On Wall Street
Akira Ito
12 Sep, 2025
Washington, D.C.
Japan's market indexes advanced on Friday and extended weekly gains, tracking the advances in overnight trading in New York.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average increased 1%, and the Topix gained 0.5%, and they advanced 4% and 2% after a week of trading, respectively.
Benchmark indexes in Tokyo followed the U.S. markets higher amid rising expectations that the Federal Reserve is more likely to cut rates at the end of the two-day policy meeting on September 18.
Consumer price inflation accelerated to a seven-month high of 2.9% in August from 2.7% in the previous month, but the core rate of inflation held steady at 3.1%.
Meanwhile, initial jobless claims rose 27,000 to 263,000 at the end of the first week in September, and continuing claims held steady at 1.94 million, the U.S. Department of Labor reported on Thursday.
The rapidly slowing job market expansion and elevated inflation complicated policymakers' task, but investors held out for a rate cut of at least 25 basis points next week.
Closer to home, the Bank of Japan is likely to continue raising rates at a gradual pace, and investors weighed growing political uncertainty after the sudden resignation of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
Japan Indexes and Stocks
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 1% to 44,821.43, and the broader Topix added 0.5% to 3,163.83.
Tokyo Electron Ltd. rose 4.9% to ¥22,460.0, Advantest Corp. gained 2% to ¥13,980.0, and Lasertec increased 0.4% to ¥16,660.0.
Nippon Yusen K.K. decreased 0.4% to ¥5,564.0, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines declined 0.2% to ¥4,839.0, and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha added 0.4% to ¥2,333.0.
Marubeni Corp. increased 0.6% to ¥3,520.0, Mitsubishi Corp. edged up 0.4% to ¥3,456.0, Sumitomo Corp. gained 0.2% to ¥4,332.0, and Itochu Corp. edged up 0.04% to ¥8,569.0.
Japan's Indexes Closed at New Highs Following Records On Wall Street
Akira Ito
12 Sep, 2025
Washington, D.C.
Japan's market indexes advanced on Friday and extended weekly gains, tracking the advances in overnight trading in New York.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average increased 1%, and the Topix gained 0.5%, and they advanced 4% and 2% after a week of trading, respectively.
Benchmark indexes in Tokyo followed the U.S. markets higher amid rising expectations that the Federal Reserve is more likely to cut rates at the end of the two-day policy meeting on September 18.
Consumer price inflation accelerated to a seven-month high of 2.9% in August from 2.7% in the previous month, but the core rate of inflation held steady at 3.1%.
Meanwhile, initial jobless claims rose 27,000 to 263,000 at the end of the first week in September, and continuing claims held steady at 1.94 million, the U.S. Department of Labor reported on Thursday.
The rapidly slowing job market expansion and elevated inflation complicated policymakers' task, but investors held out for a rate cut of at least 25 basis points next week.
Closer to home, the Bank of Japan is likely to continue raising rates at a gradual pace, and investors weighed growing political uncertainty after the sudden resignation of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
Japan Indexes and Stocks
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 1% to 44,821.43, and the broader Topix added 0.5% to 3,163.83.
Tokyo Electron Ltd. rose 4.9% to ¥22,460.0, Advantest Corp. gained 2% to ¥13,980.0, and Lasertec increased 0.4% to ¥16,660.0.
Nippon Yusen K.K. decreased 0.4% to ¥5,564.0, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines declined 0.2% to ¥4,839.0, and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha added 0.4% to ¥2,333.0.
Marubeni Corp. increased 0.6% to ¥3,520.0, Mitsubishi Corp. edged up 0.4% to ¥3,456.0, Sumitomo Corp. gained 0.2% to ¥4,332.0, and Itochu Corp. edged up 0.04% to ¥8,569.0.
China Indexes Extended Weekly Advance Amid U.S. Rate Cut Hopes
Li Chen
12 Sep, 2025
Hong Kong
Stocks in China and Hong Kong advanced and extended weekly gains as investors held out for a rate cut next week.
The Hang Seng index soared 1.5% and extended weekly gains to over 4% following a rally in overnight trading in New York.
The latest market advance was driven by the expectations of at least a 25 basis point rate cut in the U.S. next week after August's inflation data matched market expectations.
Consumer price inflation accelerated to 2.9% in August from 2.7% in July, and the core rate of inflation held steady at 3.1%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
However, initial jobless claims at the end of the first week in September inched higher by 27,000 to a four-year high of 263,000, and continuing claims were stable at 1.94 million.
The steady rise in jobless claims confirmed the deteriorating labor market conditions amid tariff-driven headwinds and macroeconomic uncertainty.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely anticipated to lower rates at the end of the two-day policy meeting on September 18, and most market participants are expecting a rate cut of at least 25 basis points.
The European Central Bank left its key lending rates unchanged for the second consecutive meeting, and policymakers revised the slightly higher GDP growth rate to 1.2% from 0.9% and the inflation estimate to 2.1% from 2.0% in June, respectively.
China Indexes and Stocks
The Hang Seng Index added 1.5% to 26,495.76, and the mainland-focused CSI 300 index edged up 0.02% to 4,548.85.
Residential property stocks advanced in the hopes that the HKMA will follow a possible rate cut in the U.S. next week.
China Vanke Co. Ltd. edged up 5.4% to HK$5.90, Longfor Group advanced 4.5% to $11.86, Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. increased 1.2% to HK$96.50, and CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd. added 0.6% to HK$52.50.