[Nikkei Recap] Sep 25, 2026: Nikkei 225 Jumps 850 Points to 66,364 as Chip and Bank Stocks Lead a Five-Day Winning Streak

Hey everyone, Hirokichi here. Tokyo stocks closed higher again today, Friday, September 25. The Nikkei 225 finished at 66,364.20 yen, up 850.21 yen (+1.30%) from the previous day. That’s five straight days of gains, and it was a broad “risk-on” session with both semiconductor and bank stocks rallying together. Let’s walk through what happened, why, and which stocks grabbed attention.

How the indexes moved today

Notice that TOPIX gained almost exactly as much as the Nikkei (+1.31% vs. +1.30%). That tells us this wasn’t just a handful of heavyweight stocks pulling the index up — buying was broad-based across the market. The Growth 250 index hadn’t been updated by data providers at the time of writing, so I’ve marked it “Pending” and will update it once confirmed. The yen traded around 158.14 per dollar as of 3:00 PM, continuing yesterday’s slightly weaker trend.

Here’s how the Nikkei has moved over the last five trading days (the market was closed September 21-23 for holidays):

From 63,923 yen on September 16 to 66,364 yen today, the Nikkei has climbed more than 2,400 points in just five sessions. What this chart shows is that this week’s rally wasn’t a single big jump — it was a series of smaller, steady gains stacking on top of each other.

Why did the market move? Today’s key drivers

Three factors appear to have driven today’s gains.

(1) Continued buying in semiconductor and AI-related names: Semiconductor equipment makers led the market higher yesterday, and that momentum carried into today. Stocks tied to expanding AI data center investment, like Tokyo Electron and Ibiden, attracted strong buying.

(2) Renewed expectations of a Bank of Japan rate hike: Reports suggesting the BOJ could raise rates again this year — possibly as soon as October — reignited hopes for wider lending margins at banks, pulling in buyers for names like Mizuho Financial Group.

(3) Hopes for improving U.S.-China relations: A sense of easing tension between the U.S. and China also seems to have supported investor sentiment. On the other hand, in the U.S. market two days earlier (September 23), a stronger-than-expected September PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index, a gauge of manufacturing and services activity) pushed long-term yields higher, and some big tech names saw profit-taking. Even against that mixed overseas backdrop, buying tied to Japan’s September interim dividend record date reportedly helped keep the Tokyo market resilient.
上流転職訴求

Stocks that made headlines today, and why

Here are five stocks that stood out today for their price moves.

This chart shows a clear split: Tokyo Electron, Ibiden, and Mizuho FG all gained in the 4% range, while SoftBank Group was the lone stock in the red.

Tokyo Electron (8035) +4.82%

Japan’s largest semiconductor equipment maker. As buying spread across the sector on expectations of expanding capital investment for AI chips, the stock rose sharply. Because it’s a heavyweight stock (one with a high per-share price that carries outsized influence on the index), it was also a major contributor to today’s Nikkei gain.

Ibiden (4062) +4.20%

Ibiden makes IC package substrates (the base material chips are mounted on) used in AI data centers. Yesterday, the stock surged 15.5% on news of a 2-for-1 stock split effective September 30, 2026, plus strong quarterly earnings (net sales up 26.4% year over year). Today it extended those gains, albeit at a calmer pace, moving in step with Tokyo Electron on the same AI data center theme.

Mizuho Financial Group (8411) +4.18%

One of Japan’s megabanks. As BOJ rate hike expectations rose, investors bought bank stocks broadly on hopes of wider net interest margins (the spread between the rates banks charge on loans and pay on deposits). Rallying on a completely different theme from the chip stocks, Mizuho’s strong gain symbolized just how broad today’s rally really was.

SoftBank Group (9984) -3.18% (6,185 JPY)

The only decliner among today’s headline stocks. Reports that Oracle declared force majeure on its massive “Jupiter” data center project, citing cost overruns and power supply disruptions, weighed on the stock. SoftBank isn’t directly involved in that project, but it’s deeply tied to the related “Stargate” initiative, and concerns spread from there. On top of that, SoftBank’s recent $11.1 billion bond offering priced at record-high yields (8.625% on the 3.5-year tranche and 9.75% on the 7.5-year tranche), locking in funding costs of roughly 9-10% annually, while delays to the planned IPOs of OpenAI and SB Energy dampened hopes for near-term cash inflows.

Okamoto Glass (7746): Sharp afternoon rally

Shares jumped in the afternoon session after the company revised up its capital investment plan for expanding glass polarizer (an optical component used in LCD panels) production capacity. It’s shifting from single-site production at its head office plant to a two-site setup that adds its Niigata plant, raising planned capital spending for the fiscal year ending March 2028 to 400 million yen, with a goal of boosting monthly output 16-fold from July 2026 levels. That points to meaningful mid-term earnings growth, which drew buyers in. It’s a small-cap on the TSE Standard market, so it was a nice reminder that stock-specific catalysts can move a name even in a market dominated by large caps. (Today’s exact closing price and percentage change were still pending confirmation at the time of writing; I’ll add them once available.)

What this means for individual investors

If you’re dollar-cost averaging (or yen-cost averaging, I suppose), I think the right move on a day like today is to just keep doing what you’re doing. It’s tempting to want to buy more when the market is on a roll, but with the Nikkei already up five days straight and sitting near highs, there’s no need to chase it. For shorter-term traders, the question now is whether this clear thematic flow into chips and banks continues. And SoftBank Group is a good reminder that even a stock with plenty going for it can drop sharply on news about a related company — which is exactly why diversification matters.

What to watch going forward

Three things I’m personally keeping an eye on:

(1) Bank of Japan policy: Speculation about the timing of the next rate hike looks set to remain a market theme. Worth watching related comments and economic data releases closely.

(2) U.S. interest rates: Whether the recent rise in U.S. long-term yields cools off could also affect Japan’s semiconductor and growth stocks.

(3) Price action around the September interim dividend record date: Once dividend-seeking buying runs its course, it’ll be worth watching how much selling shows up on the ex-dividend date.

Let’s keep at it, slow and steady. See you tomorrow!

Sources: Nikkei Inc. (indexes.nikkei.co.jp), Nikkei (nikkei.com), Zaikei Shimbun (zaikei.co.jp), Kabutan (kabutan.jp), Investing.com Japan.

* This article is for informational purposes only and does not recommend any specific investment. Please make investment decisions at your own responsibility.

日本語版はこちら → https://hirokichiiii.com/投資のいろは/nikkei-daily-2026-09-25/

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, a quick click on the banners below would really encourage me.