2025.12.0806:56:26UTC+00Japanese Shares Rise in Cautious Trade

The Nikkei 225 Index experienced a 0.27% increase, reaching 50,582, while the Topix Index advanced by 0.65% to 3,384 on Monday. This upward movement in the market recouped some of the losses from the previous session, driven by robust expectations of a US Federal Reserve interest rate cut anticipated this week. Nevertheless, investors exercised caution due to growing geopolitical tensions between Japan and China. Amid this backdrop, the market processed data showing a continuous decline in real wages for the tenth consecutive month in October and a sharper-than-forecast contraction in Q3 economic growth. These factors added layers of uncertainty regarding the possibility of the Bank of Japan raising interest rates in the upcoming week. Among the notable gainers were Kioxia Holdings, which surged 7.6%, Fujikura at 7%, Mitsubishi Heavy at 3.1%, Disco Corp at 3%, and Sanrio at 4.2%. Conversely, AI-linked stocks mostly faced declines owing to ongoing valuation concerns, with SoftBank Group's shares falling by 3.3%.