Japan's Nikkei wavers on earnings caution

Nippon Paper Industries

29/07/2026 02:56

By Satoshi Sugiyama
TOKYO, July 29 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average seesawed on Wednesday, as the impact of dip-buying was offset by caution ahead of U.S. tech earnings and as investors assessed the latest developments in the Middle East. 
The Nikkei .N225 was last down 0.04% to 62,337.37 after swaying between gains and losses. The broader Topix .TOPX inched up 0.33% to 3,976.55. On Tuesday, the Nikkei bluechip fell more than 4% to its lowest in two months on a chips selloff. 
"The market will likely continue to be driven today by moves in AI chip-related stocks," said Maki Sawada, an equity strategist at Nomura Securities. 
"Even if there is no specific catalyst, the Nikkei average could see wider intraday swings... as AI chip-related and other high-priced stocks have become more volatile ahead of earnings announcements. That pattern is likely to continue today."
AI-related shares were mostly lower, with Murata Manufacturing 6981.T down nearly 10%, Tokyo Electron 8035.T shedding 6.19% and SoftBank Group 9984.T losing 5.75%.
The Nikkei has closely tracked moves in South Korea's benchmark KOSPI .KS11 and the U.S. Philadelphia semiconductor index.
The tech-heavy KOSPI fell after SK Hynix 000660.KS reported bumper quarterly results that nevertheless fell short of elevated investor expectations. The U.S. chip index was down almost 4.5% overnight on Tuesday. 
Investors were awaiting earnings from U.S. tech heavyweights, with Microsoft MSFT.O due to report on Wednesday and Amazon AMZN.O on Thursday. 
In Japan, a heavily weighted Nikkei component, Advantest 6857.T, a chip-testing equipment maker, is scheduled to announce results after the market closes on Wednesday.
The U.S. military said on Tuesday it intercepted multiple ballistic missiles launched by Iran towards U.S. forces in the Middle East. 
Oil prices rose by more than $2 a barrel in early trade on shrinking U.S. crude inventories. O/R
Meanwhile, Keyence 6861.T surged as much as 15.42%, becoming the Nikkei's biggest percentage gainer, after the factory automation sensors and systems provider reported robust earnings. 
Video games and entertainment company Konami 9766.T gained 8.81% and Shiseido 4911.T, a global cosmetics and skincare company, rose 5.41%.
Market breadth was positive, with 135 gainers against 89 decliners.
Shares of companies affected by Tuesday's magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Kumamoto, southern Japan, including retailer Aeon 8267.T and Nippon Paper Industries 3863.T, showed limited reaction.
The earthquake killed at least 13 people near Kumamoto and rescuers are frantically searching for survivors trapped beneath the rubble, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said.

 (Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
 ((Satoshi.Sugiyama@thomsonreuters.com;))