Japan's Indexes Extended Weekly Gains Despite Worsening Yen's Outlook

Akira Ito
03 Jul, 2026
Tokyo

Japan's indexes advanced in Friday's trading and extended weekly gains as investors reassessed the outlook for technology stocks and debated the appropriate level for the year. 

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average increased 1.6%, the broader TOPIX gained more than 1%, and the yen rebounded more than 0.9% following persistent speculation that the authorities are ready to intervene. 

The yen has lost about 5% against the U.S. dollar in the year so far and dropped more than 11% over the last year amid deepening concerns about Japan's fiscal outlook and a wide interest rate gap with other economies. 

Currency traders are worried that market intervention is not likely to arrest the yen's steady decline over the next year, and many market participants are preparing for the currency to breach the 170 level against the U.S. dollar. 

The yen's weakness boosts earnings of Japanese global corporations, and about 40% of the listed companies are active in foreign markets. 

 

Japan Indexes and Stocks 

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average increased 1.6% to 69,601.30, and the broader TOPIX increased 1.1% to 4,059.28. 

For the week, the Nikkei 225 advanced 1.6%, and the TOPIX gained 2.6% amid improving commercial shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and persistent weakness in the yen. 

Semiconductor- and AI-related stocks rebounded despite growing worries that valuations are running ahead of the sector's fundamentals. 

Kioxia Holdings jumped 9.2% to ¥83,300.0, SoftBank Group edged down 0.4% to ¥6,169.0, and Tokyo Electron gained 0.4% to ¥73,200.0. 

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial added 1.5% to ¥6,672.0, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial increased 0.6% to ¥3,326.0, and Mizuho Financial closed up 1.3% to ¥8,078.0.