Japan's Indexes Closed Down Following Volatile Semiconductor Equipment Stocks and Persistent Weakness In Yen

Akira Ito
21 Nov, 2024
Tokyo

Stock market indexes in Tokyo traded down and reversed gains of the previous session amid weakness in semiconductor equipment stocks. 

The Nikkei 225 fell 0.7% and the broader Topix decreased 0.5% after intraday traders dumped semiconductor equipment makers following quarterly results from Nvidia. 

The artificial intelligence application enabling chipmaker reported fiscal third quarter revenue soared 94% and net income jumped 109%, meeting the lofty expectations set by many analysts. 

Investors decided to sell Nvidia stock in the after-hours trading, despite the company offering a strong forward-looking revenue outlook of $37.5 billion. 

The weakness in semiconductor equipment stocks overshadowed market sentiment as investors shifted their focus to upcoming inflation data on Friday. 

The yen hovered near 154.66 against the U.S. dollar amid speculation that the Bank of Japan is preparing for another market intervention and arrest its persistent decline. 

 

Japan Stock Movers 

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 0.7% to 38,072.68, and the broader Topix index fell 0.5% to 2,686.05.

Tokyo Electron decreased 0.5% to ¥21,760.0, Advantest fell 2.2% to ¥9,337.0, Disco Corp. eased 0.1% to ¥42,290.0, and SoftBank Group declined 0.4% to ¥192.90. 

Fujikura declined 0.9% to ¥5,592.0, Furukawa Electric jumped 3% to ¥6,239.0, Kyowa Kirin increased 0.8% to ¥2,547.0, and UBE Corp jumped 3.4% to ¥2,412.50.   

Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd. jumped 5% to ¥4,530.0 and extended the two-day increase to over 15% after activist investor Elliott Management acquired a 5% stake in the company. 

The activist investor is in negotiations with the company to scale back its real estate holding and share more capital with stockholders, according to several executives at the company contacted by Ticker.com. 

Tokyo Gas Urban Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, provides real estate leasing, management, and brokerage services, generated revenue of 31.9 billion yen and operating income of 5.9 billion yen. 

Elliott is seeking the company to sell several of its real estate projects, including the Park Hyatt hotel in Tokyo, with net annual revenue of 10.2 billion yen and operating income of 185 million yen. 

The company's stock, before the recent surge, traded at a price-to-book ratio of 1, and the company's assets do not reflect the current market price of its several real estate holdings.