[Nikkei Recap] Sep 3, 2026: Nikkei 225 Falls 111 Points to 64,214 as BOJ’s Hawkish Comment Sends the Yen Sharply Higher

Hey everyone, Hirokichi here.
Let’s look back at today’s (September 3, 2026) session on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The Nikkei 225 closed at 64,214.48, down 111.16 points from the previous day. That’s a small move on the surface, but it was actually a fairly eventful day underneath. A hawkish comment from Bank of Japan board member So Takada sent the yen sharply higher, weighing on export-related shares, while bank stocks (which benefit from rising rates) and trading house stocks (in the spotlight over Berkshire Hathaway’s buying appetite) moved higher against the trend. In short: the Nikkei dipped, but banks and trading houses were the real story of the day.

Today’s index moves

The previous day (September 2) saw the Nikkei 225 tumble 1,889 points after Iran airstrikes sent oil prices higher. You can find my full recap of that session in this article.

As the table shows, the Nikkei 225 fell while TOPIX (Tokyo Stock Price Index) actually closed higher. Both indexes track the same market, but they moved in opposite directions because the Nikkei 225 is more sensitive to swings in heavyweight semiconductor and export-related names, while TOPIX reflects the broader market including banks and trading houses — companies with huge market caps but relatively little weight in the Nikkei 225’s price-weighted formula. The Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market 250 Index was little changed, down 1.39 points to 776.09 (though as I’ll explain below, one individual growth stock jumped sharply even as the index as a whole was flat).

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Why did it move? What drove the market

Three things drove today’s session.

(1) On September 2, BOJ board member So Takada gave a speech in Sapporo saying the central bank should “respond flexibly, without being bound by a fixed pace or size” of rate hikes, and that consecutive rate increases are “possible.” Markets read this as hawkish, and the dollar was sold against the yen. USD/JPY dropped to around 157.30 by mid-afternoon, down 2.40 yen (-1.50%) from the previous day, and reportedly weakened further to the upper 158 range once New York trading got underway. A stronger yen squeezes the profits of Japanese exporters when translated back into yen, so it weighed on automakers and electronics makers.

(2) At the same time, a stronger yen reflects growing expectations that the BOJ is moving toward policy normalization (rate hikes). Higher rates tend to widen banks’ lending margins, so shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and other megabanks were bought. This “buy banks, sell exporters” split is exactly what drove the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX in opposite directions.

(3) Wall Street was firm overnight (September 2 session): the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 295.07 points to 53,061.95, and the S&P 500 gained 0.46% to 7,666.60, its highest close in about two months. That said, in Tokyo today the BOJ-driven currency move seemed to matter more to investors than the strong U.S. session, and it was the yen story that ultimately set the tone for the day.

Notable stocks today, and why they moved

Two themes drove today’s most talked-about stocks: “Berkshire Hathaway” and “self-driving technology.” The chart above compares the percentage moves of four notable names. Tier IV, the autonomous-driving company, stood out with by far the largest gain, followed by the two trading houses and the megabank.

Mitsubishi Corp (8058) and Sumitomo Corp (8053)

Greg Abel, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, told the Nikkei newspaper in an interview on September 3 that Berkshire intends to keep holding — and potentially keep adding to — its stakes in Japan’s five major trading houses: Itochu, Marubeni, Mitsui & Co., Mitsubishi Corp, and Sumitomo Corp. On this news, Mitsubishi Corp jumped 239 yen to 5,099 yen (+4.92%) and Sumitomo Corp rose 79 yen to 1,867 yen (+4.42%). Berkshire is already reported to hold stakes of more than 10% in each of the five trading houses, and I think the sense of reassurance that “a world-famous investor is committed to holding this stock for the long run” is what drove such a large move — there was no fresh earnings or dividend news behind it. The scale of the reaction likely also reflects a supply-and-demand dynamic specific to these stocks: every time Berkshire raises its stake, fewer shares are left floating in the market.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306)

On the back of the Takada comments mentioned above, MUFG rose 70 yen to 3,754 yen (+1.90%). Bank stocks tend to attract buying whenever rate-hike expectations firm up, since the logic is straightforward: higher rates generally widen banks’ lending margins and boost profitability. That said, the gain was more modest than the trading houses saw, likely because whether the BOJ will actually raise rates at its September 17-18 policy meeting is still uncertain, so the market hasn’t fully priced it in yet.

Tier IV (593A)

Tier IV, a Tokyo Growth Market-listed developer of the “Autoware” self-driving software, jumped roughly 20% (reports put the figure at somewhere between 19.7% and 20.1%). The move appears tied to reports that Toyota plans to roll out “Level 2++” driver-assistance technology — nearly hands-free driving — in 2028, which stoked investor interest in autonomous-driving suppliers. As a recently listed stock with a relatively small number of shares outstanding, Tier IV’s price also tends to swing more easily than large-cap names on a single piece of news. It’s worth remembering that newer, smaller-cap stocks like this can move by tens of percent on a single catalyst, unlike the large, heavily-traded names.

What this means for individual investors

If you’re dollar-cost averaging into index funds, I honestly don’t think a day like today is worth losing sleep over. Hearing that the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX moved in opposite directions might sound like the market was in turmoil, but the actual decline was just 0.17% — well within the range of normal daily noise for anyone investing with a long time horizon. What’s more useful, in my view, is understanding why bank stocks rose while automakers fell, so that the next time you see a similar pattern, you won’t feel blindsided.

For anyone trading on shorter time frames, though, a day like this — where currency moves split the market into clear winners and losers by sector — can be worth watching closely. If BOJ rate-hike expectations keep building, it’s worth keeping an eye on financials like banks and insurers on the upside, and export-heavy sectors like autos and electronics on the downside. As for lighter, newly listed names like Tier IV, they can swing just as hard in either direction, so I’d rather understand the story behind a move than chase it after the fact.

What to watch from here

(1) Any further comments from BOJ officials, and how USD/JPY behaves heading into the September 17-18 policy meeting. Whether the yen keeps strengthening will determine how much pressure stays on exporters.

(2) Earnings and updates from Toyota and other major automakers, especially anything related to autonomous driving and production plans — worth watching whether buying interest in names like Tier IV continues.

(3) Further news on whether Berkshire Hathaway keeps raising its stakes in Japan’s trading houses, which should be a good gauge of whether money keeps flowing into the sector as a whole.

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

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

(Figures in this article are based on reporting and data from Nikkei, Kyodo News, Bloomberg, and Matsui Securities market data.)

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