Hey everyone, Hirokichi here. On August 6, the Tokyo stock market saw the Nikkei 225 close at 65,683.26 yen, down 617.18 yen (-0.93%) from the previous day – its first decline in three sessions. After surging more than 2,300 yen the day before, AI and semiconductor-related stocks saw profit-taking today. Meanwhile, TOPIX (the broader Tokyo Stock Price Index) stayed in positive territory, so the two indexes told different stories.
Nikkei Falls 617 Yen to 65,683, First Drop in Three Sessions
On the 5th, the Nikkei had jumped 2,342.91 yen (3.66%) to close at 66,300.44 yen, as easing Middle East tensions and fresh record highs in US and European stocks fueled risk-on buying (buying that happens when investors feel confident enough to take on more risk). That rally set up today’s pullback: AI and semiconductor names led profit-taking selling right from the open.
At one point the Nikkei was down more than 1,300 yen, but the losses narrowed through the afternoon session. The index finished the day down 617.18 yen at 65,683.26 yen (Source: Zaikei Shimbun).
TOPIX Rises 9.68 Points, Diverging From the Nikkei
TOPIX (the Tokyo Stock Price Index, which tracks the broader Prime Market) closed up 9.68 points at 4,055.85 (Source: Yahoo! Finance Japan). While big semiconductor and AI names were sold off, money appears to have rotated into domestic-demand and value stocks, creating a split – sometimes called a “twisted market” – between the Nikkei and TOPIX.
Sector Spotlight: Chip Stocks Take a Profit-Taking Hit
Among individual names, chip-related stocks that had rallied hard the day before – Taiyo Yuden, Kioxia, and Furukawa Electric among them – were the day’s biggest decliners (Source: Kabushiki Shimbun). Weighing further on Japanese chip stocks was US memory maker SanDisk’s guidance for the July-September quarter, which came in below market expectations (Source: Nikkei).
I touched on the relationship between huge AI capital spending and stock prices in my recent SpaceX earnings recap. Given how much money is at stake, I think we’ll keep seeing stocks swing hard around every earnings report.
Dollar-Yen Holds Steady Around 157.70
In the currency market, the dollar-yen pair traded in a narrow range around 157.70 yen (Source: Zaikei Shimbun). Wariness over coordinated Japan-US intervention is capping the topside, while concerns about loosening Japanese fiscal discipline are supporting the dollar – the two forces are roughly offsetting each other for now.
Tonight’s US Market Outlook: Earnings Rush and Jobless Claims
Overnight (US time on the 5th), the Dow rose 263.24 points (0.49%) to a record 54,349.12, its fifth straight gain. The Nasdaq Composite, though, fell 221.55 points (0.83%) to 26,363.44. Rising long-term yields on persistent rate-hike expectations, plus weakness in aerospace names and chipmaker AMD, weighed on tech stocks (Source: Zaikei Shimbun).
Here’s what to watch tonight (Japan time, evening of the 6th into early the 7th):
- 9:30 p.m. JST: US Initial Jobless Claims (released every Thursday; seen as a leading indicator ahead of the monthly jobs report)
- Earnings from ConocoPhillips, Zoetis, Fiserv, Airbnb, and Datadog
At July’s FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meeting, the Fed held its policy rate at 3.50%-3.75%, but markets are still pricing in the possibility of one more hike before year-end. With earnings and a key jobs-related indicator landing on the same night, I think we could see some sharp moves.
Wrapping Up
Today’s session was a split one: chip and AI names gave back some of yesterday’s big gains, while TOPIX held onto a modest gain. It’s a good reminder not to read too much into any single day’s move and instead focus on the trend over days and weeks. Tonight’s mix of earnings and economic data in the US could well ripple into tomorrow’s Tokyo session, so I’ll be keeping an eye on it.
Here’s my previous market recap: [Market Recap] Nikkei Sinks 607 Yen to 63,754 as Japan-US Currency Intervention Sends Yen Surging – Tonight’s Focus: ISM Manufacturing [2026/8/3]
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* This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice. Please invest at your own responsibility.
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