Japan's stock market rallied sharply on Thursday, with the Nikkei 225 jumping more than 3.5% as strong earnings and optimistic guidance from U.S. memory chipmaker Micron Technology reignited investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence-related stocks.
The Nikkei rose 3.72% to 71,754.53, putting the benchmark on track to snap a two-day losing streak. The broader Topix index also advanced 1.34% to 4,016.71, reflecting broad-based gains across technology and semiconductor sectors.
The rebound followed a recent pullback in technology shares that had been partly triggered by weakness in South Korean semiconductor company SK Hynix earlier in the week. However, sentiment shifted dramatically after Micron delivered stronger-than-expected quarterly results and issued an upbeat outlook for future growth.
Micron, a key supplier of memory chips used in Nvidia's artificial intelligence processors, forecast revenue and profit well above market expectations. The company also revealed that customers have committed approximately $22 billion to secure future memory chip supplies, highlighting the strong demand generated by AI infrastructure investments.
The positive outlook sent Micron shares soaring by 12% in after-hours trading in the United States and sparked a global rally in semiconductor stocks. South Korea's SK Hynix, another important supplier to Nvidia, climbed as much as 11.1% during Thursday trading.
Market participants viewed Micron's results as confirmation that demand for AI-related hardware remains exceptionally strong. Analysts noted that Japan's stock market often closely follows movements in global semiconductor stocks.
Among the biggest gainers in Japan, chip-testing equipment manufacturer Advantest surged 11.8%, while semiconductor equipment maker Tokyo Electron advanced 7.9%. Memory chip producer Kioxia also climbed 9%.
Companies involved in supplying materials and components for AI data centers posted strong gains as well. Murata Manufacturing rose 6.35%, while Taiyo Yuden jumped 11%, reflect
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