Japan's Nikkei share average rises to a record as AI disruption fears ease

NEC

25/02/2026 02:11

Updates prices, adds analyst comment

By Satoshi Sugiyama

TOKYO, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average climbed to another record on Wednesday, driven by a surge in tech-related stocks as investor apprehension over artificial intelligence disruption eased, and as the yen weakened.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index .N225 rose 1.4% to 58,122.07 in early trade. The broader Topix .TOPX was up 0.3% at 3,827.68.

"In the U.S., fears about AI have eased somewhat, prompting buying back of previously sold-off software names and likely boosting investors' risk appetite," said Takayuki Miyajima, senior economist at Sony Financial Group.

IT services firm NEC Corp 6701.T rallied 4.4%, after a 6.2% tumble the previous day. Peer Fujitsu 6702.T rose 2.5%.

Semiconductor-related shares contributed to lifting the Nikkei index by the most, with chip-testing equipment maker Advantest 6857.T, which rose 3.5%, pushing up the index by nearly 200 points, while chipmaking equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron's 8035.T 3.6% jump helped the index rise by almost 140 points.

Nomura Research Institute 4307.T shares surged as much as 9% before retreating and were still up 6.2% following an announcement that the consulting firm had set up support services for introducing Anthropic's Claude and would further collaborate with the AI lab.

A newspaper report on Tuesday that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi conveyed her reservations about further rate hikes in a meeting with Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda would be a tailwind for Japanese equities, Miyajima said.

The Japanese yen JPY=EBS weakened 0.08% against the greenback to 155.78 per dollar.

The Nikkei index last traded at record levels on February 12, following Takaichi's election victory.

On Wednesday, there were 120 advancers on the index against 105 decliners.

The largest percentage decliner was Nippon Steel 5401.T with a 5.2% drop, after the Japanese steelmaker said on Tuesday it would increase its convertible bond offering to $3.9 billion, the biggest in Japan's corporate history.

 (Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

 ((Satoshi.Sugiyama@thomsonreuters.com;))