Tokyo returned from the long weekend buying what it had sold: the Nikkei 225 jumped 3.26% to 66,232.19 with Advantest and SoftBank Group leading, all 17 sectors advanced, and the TSE short-selling ratio fell to 31.9% — the least defensive reading in over a week.
The Nikkei 225 is a price-weighted average, so a handful of high-priced chip names can move the whole index far more than their economic size suggests. This guide explains the mechanics, contrasts the Nikkei with TOPIX, walks through a real worked example, and shows how Japan’s semiconductor policy reinforces the sector’s outsized market role.
The Nikkei 225 fell 4.03% to 64,141.12 on Friday as a global tech rout hit Japanese chip names, with SoftBank Group down 9% and Tokyo Electron down 8.2%. The TSE short-selling ratio, notably, sat at the low end of its recent range — pointing to long liquidation rather than fresh shorting.
The Nikkei 225 fell 2.79% to 66,835.54 on Thursday as semiconductor and AI names were sold hard on valuation concerns. Autos rallied on a steady 162 yen, the short-sell ratio held at 37.4%, and the Nikkei VI sat at an elevated 32.27.
The Nikkei 225 jumped 2.24% to 68,751.51 on Wednesday as semiconductor names led a broad rally after softer-than-expected US inflation data. The short-sell ratio held at 39.3%, and JGB long yields fell sharply.
The Nikkei 225 shrugged off a near-1,000-point intraday plunge to close up 0.74% at 67,743.50, as bargain-hunters overwhelmed early geopolitical selling. SoftBank, Advantest and the megabanks led the turn; the yen sat near 40-year lows at 162.34.
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The Nikkei 225 fell 1.92% to 67,242.73 on Monday as Middle East escalation and an Asia-wide rout hammered chip stocks, while banks led a small band of gainers. Short selling ran at 38.9% of TSE turnover and the Nikkei VI held at stressed levels.
Tokyo ended the week with a tech-led advance: the Nikkei 225 rose 1.20% to 68,557.73 on options SQ day, SoftBank Group jumped 10.65%, and the yen firmed to 161.67. Beneath the rally, the TSE short-selling ratio held at an elevated 41.6% and 43% of loanable issues carried squeeze premiums.