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(Seoul=Yonhap Infomax) Kyung Pyo Hong – Japanese stocks soared on the 20th, buoyed by Nvidia Corp.'s earnings that far exceeded market expectations.
According to the Yonhap Infomax World Stock Index (6511), the Nikkei 225 index closed up 1,286.24 points (2.65%) at 49,823.94 compared to the previous session.
The TOPIX index finished at 3,299.57, up 53.99 points (1.66%) from the prior close.
Japanese benchmark indices had been under sustained pressure this week, particularly among technology stocks, amid concerns of an artificial intelligence (AI) bubble. However, investor sentiment rebounded sharply following Nvidia's record-breaking results.
Nvidia, the leading US AI chipmaker, reported its fiscal third-quarter 2026 (August–October) results after the New York market closed, posting all-time high earnings and dispelling doubts over the AI sector's momentum.
Nvidia announced that third-quarter revenue surged 62% year-on-year to a record $57.01 billion (approx. 83.4 trillion won), beating the market consensus of $54.92 billion.
The company projected that this growth would continue into the fourth quarter (November–January), forecasting revenue of $65 billion.
In after-hours trading, Nvidia shares jumped more than 5%. Other US tech stocks, including CoreWeave (NASDAQ: CRWV), AMD (NASDAQ: AMD), and Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU), also posted significant gains in extended trading.
This rally spilled over into Japanese markets, with AI and semiconductor-related stocks leading the advance.
Shares of SoftBank Group Corp. (SBG), a major Japanese AI investor, climbed over 6% intraday, while memory chipmaker Kioxia Holdings Corp. surged more than 11% at one point.
Semiconductor testing firm Advantest Corp. and optical cable specialist Fujikura Ltd. also recorded strong gains.
Meanwhile, Japanese government bond yields continued to rise on concerns that Prime Minister Takaiichi's large-scale supplementary budget would strain public finances.
Reports indicated that the government's economic stimulus package would exceed 21 trillion yen, surpassing the previously expected 17 trillion yen.
Prime Minister Takaiichi's cabinet, which has advocated for aggressive fiscal policy, is set to announce the size of the economic package at a cabinet meeting on the 21st.
Junko Koeda, a policy board member of the Bank of Japan (BOJ), stated at a financial and economic meeting in Niigata Prefecture that "normalizing interest rates to restore real rates to a balanced state is necessary to avoid unintended distortions in the future."
The yield on 10-year Japanese government bonds rose more than 3.5 basis points intraday, breaking above 1.80%—the highest level in 17 and a half years since June 2008.
The 30-year bond yield also surpassed the 3.4% mark, setting a new record high.
As fiscal concerns mounted, the dollar-yen exchange rate continued to climb, prompting Japanese authorities to verbally intervene in the foreign exchange market.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara commented on recent forex movements, describing them as "unilateral and rapid," and expressed concern.
He added that authorities would "closely monitor the market" as the yen weakened against the dollar.
The dollar-yen rate traded at 157.611 yen, up 0.41% from the previous session.
kphong@yna.co.kr
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