The Nikkei index closed down 68 points or 0.1%, Kioxia rose over 7%, and Tokyo Electric Power Company was under pressure

Japanese stocks were slightly weak, with the market concerned that the prolonged military actions by the United States and Israel against Iran would lead to rising oil prices. However, investors took the opportunity to buy on dips, limiting the market's decline. The Nikkei average opened down 191 points, initially rising 163 points to a high of 53,983 points before retreating, at one point dropping 705 points to a low of 53,113 points. The midday decline narrowed, closing down 68 points or 0.1% at 53,751 points.

In the artificial intelligence and semiconductor sectors, SoftBank (9984.JP), Discus (6146.JP), and Raytech (6920.JP) rose by 0.4% to 0.9%, while Advantest (6857.JP) and Tokyo Electron (8035.JP) increased by 2.1%. Memory stock Kioxia (285A.JP) surged by 7.4%. Wire stocks Furukawa Electric (5801.JP) and Fujikura (5803.JP) fell by 4.2% and 3.4%, respectively, while Sumitomo Electric (5802.JP) dropped by 2.3%. Heavy industry stock Kawasaki Heavy Industries (7012.JP) decreased by 1.6%. Metal stocks JX Metals (5016.JP) and Sumitomo Metal Mining (5713.JP) fell by 1.1% and 2.3%. The rare earth concept Mitsui Ocean Development (6269.JP) rose by 5.9%.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (9501.JP) fell by 4.8% as Unit 6 of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant was suspended, delaying commercial operations. In other stocks, Fast Retailing (9983.JP) dropped by 0.5%, Honda (7267.JP) and Nissan (7201.JP) fell by 1.7% and 3.2%, respectively. Panasonic (6752.JP) decreased by 2.3%, while Sony (6758.JP) and Ryohin Keikaku (7453.JP) fell by 2.1% and 3%. Trading company Itochu (8001.JP) dropped by 1.9%, while Mitsui & Co. (8031.JP) rose by 2.5%. Bank stock Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.JP) fell by 0.8%, and department store company Isetan Mitsukoshi (3099.JP) dropped by 3.1%.

The exchange rate for the US dollar against the Japanese yen is 159.26