The Nikkei 225 closed at 65,324.29, up 1.39%, as chip equipment names and heavy industry led a relief rally after Thursday’s steep sell-off. The TSE short-selling ratio fell to 32.9%, the bottom of its recent range — consistent with short-covering contributing to the move.
The Nikkei 225 fell 3,318 points to 64,425.95 on Thursday — its steepest drop since March — as a hot U.S. CPI print and credit stress in AI infrastructure hammered semiconductor names. The TSE short-selling ratio held at 39.4%, while pharma, real estate and retail caught the defensive rotation.
The Nikkei 225 fell 1,253 points to 67,777.52, its fourth straight loss, as Tokyo Electron and SoftBank Group tumbled — yet 11 of 17 sectors advanced and TOPIX edged up 0.14% (its 1306 ETF proxy closed unchanged). Short-selling stood at 38.3% of turnover, near the low end of its recent range.
The Nikkei 225 recovered from an early 892-yen drop to finish nearly unchanged at 69,030.92 on options SQ day, as chip-equipment names reversed higher while SoftBank Group and Fast Retailing weighed. Short selling ran at 40.3% of TSE turnover ahead of a three-day weekend.
Tokyo gave back ground after its run above 70,000: the Nikkei 225 closed at 70,035.71 (-0.92%) on semiconductor profit-taking, the yen held near 158, and the TSE short-selling ratio stood at 40.6% — the defensive end of its recent range.
Japan’s chip-equipment cycle runs on five public gauges: SEAJ monthly billings read as a three-month average year on year, global semiconductor sales, customer capex guidance, order backlogs, and inventory days. Here is the reading order, the confirmation rules that separate a real turn from noise, and how to cross-check with JPX short-sale and Japan Securities Finance margin data.
Tokyo snapped a two-day winning streak on Friday: the Nikkei 225 fell 0.94% to 68,309.46 as SoftBank Group dropped 5.8% and semiconductor names gave back part of the week’s surge. The TSE short-selling ratio hit 41.1% — the defensive tone in positioning persists.
The Nikkei 225 surged 3.30% to 68,956.72 on a ferocious semiconductor rally after Micron’s record earnings, but the advance was strikingly narrow: the TOPIX proxy added just 0.67%, banks fell hard, and the TSE short-selling ratio printed 38.8%.
For a September 30 record date under Japan’s T+2 settlement, the last day to buy with dividend rights is September 28 and the ex-dividend day (kenri-ochi) is September 29 — the morning thousands of stocks open lower at once and the Nikkei 225 carries a calculable dividend drag that has nothing to do with sentiment. Here is how to count the dates, estimate the drop, and avoid misreading it.
The Nikkei 225 fell 0.60% for a second straight loss as rising global yields and oil pressed on breadth — only one of 17 sectors advanced — while SCREEN and Disco rallied hard and Tokyo Electron gained ground. The TSE short-sell ratio held elevated at 43.1% into fiscal half-year-end ex-dividend week.