Last week’s Jakota markets:
- Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.7%, supported by tech shares rallying on AI investments, while Sanae Takaichi emerged as the ruling party’s new leader, positioning her to become Japan’s first female prime minister
- South Korea’s KOSPI jumped 4.7% to break above 3,500, lifted by OpenAI partnerships with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix and hopes for another Federal Reserve rate cut
- Taiwan’s TAIEX rose 4.6% as investors continued betting on AI growth potential, with TSMC extending gains on attractive valuations relative to Nvidia
- The JAKOTA Blue Chip 150 Index advanced 3.2%, with Japanese memory chipmaker KIOXIA surging more than 40% as the top performer
Japan
Japan’s stock market advanced this week, with the Nikkei 225 rising 0.7%. Expectations for a near term Bank of Japan (BoJ) rate increase eased after Tokyo consumer inflation came in below forecasts, while pharmaceutical shares lagged following new U.S. tariff measures targeting the sector.
Investors also focused on the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s presidential election held on October 4. Sanae Takaichi emerged as the new party leader, positioning the 64 year old to become Japan’s first female prime minister. Ms. Takaichi is regarded as one of the more conservative figures within the LDP, aligned with its right leaning faction.
The Nikkei 225 gained 0.7% as tech shares rallied on optimism over AI investments. The yen strengthened to around ¥147.3 per dollar from about ¥149.5 the previous week as the dollar weakened following the U.S. government shutdown.
The BoJ reaffirmed its path towards higher interest rates but offered little guidance on the timing of its next move. Gov. Kazuo Ueda said the central bank held off on tightening at its September meeting to preserve accommodative conditions amid U.S. tariff volatility. He noted that while the tariffs have weighed on exporters’ profits, the impact has yet to spill over to the broader economy.
Mr. Ueda reiterated that the BoJ will proceed with rate increases if economic and price developments align with its projections. He pointed to the latest tankan survey, which showed business sentiment among large manufacturers improving, as supporting the likelihood of that scenario.
Markets widely expect the BoJ to raise rates again before year end, following its most recent increase in January.
South Korea
South Korea’s stock market surged this week, with the KOSPI Index climbing 4.7% to break above the 3,500 level in a shortened trading week as markets were closed on Friday for National Foundation Day. Investor sentiment was buoyed by news of business partnerships between OpenAI and leading South Korean chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, while renewed hopes for another Federal Reserve rate cut encouraged foreign buying.
Local media reports suggested that the Korea Exchange may cut stock trading fees by as much as 40% in December, in what would be the first overhaul of its pricing structure since the bourse operator’s establishment in 2005. The reduction would initially be implemented for two months, with a decision on making the change permanent to follow a review of its impact on revenue and market share.
Taiwan
Taiwan’s stock market jumped this week, with the TAIEX climbing 4.6% as investors continued to bet on the growth potential of AI applications. Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) led the TAIEX higher, with the chipmaker’s shares extending gains as investors viewed its valuation as attractive relative to U.S. AI chipmaker Nvidia.
On the economic data front, Taiwan’s manufacturing sector remained in contraction for a fourth straight month in September, with the seasonally adjusted purchasing managers index (PMI) edging up 0.4 point to 48.3. AI related sectors, including semiconductors, servers and heavy electrical equipment, continued to perform strongly, while autos, petrochemicals and machine tools lagged amid tariff pressures.
JAKOTA Blue Chip 150 Index
The JAKOTA Blue Chip 150 Index advanced 3.2% this week. Out of 150 constituents, 62 stocks posted gains.
KIOXIA, a Japanese memory chip manufacturer and a debutant on the JAKOTA Blue Chip 150 Index, emerged as the top performer this week with shares surging more than 40%, driven by robust market demand from AI and semiconductor growth. The company projects NAND storage demand to rise roughly 20% annually as AI data centre operators continue to scale up.
Executive Vice President Tomoharu Watanabe said demand is strong, especially from hyperscalers who need chips for generative AI purposes. “We’re also hearing from customers replacing five to six year old data centre servers, and others struggling to source enough hard drives,” he added.
Adding to the momentum, KIOXIA and partner SanDisk officially began operations on September 30 at their new Fab2 semiconductor fabrication facility at the Kitakami Plant in Japan. The advanced factory expands production capacity for cutting edge 3D flash memory chips, supporting growing demand from AI data centres and other technology sectors.
Honda Motor, a Japanese manufacturer specialising in automobiles, motorcycles and power equipment, led the losses on the JAKOTA Blue Chip 150 Index this week, weighed down by ongoing production declines. The company recently announced it would halt U.S. production of the Acura ZDX electric vehicle, citing weak demand for EVs.
