--- title: "Japan's Nikkei jumps 4% as Microsoft forecasts lift chip stocks" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/294468573.md" datetime: "2026-07-31T07:09:49.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/294468573.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294468573.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/294468573.md) --- # Japan's Nikkei jumps 4% as Microsoft forecasts lift chip stocks (Updates with closing prices) By Kevin Buckland TOKYO, July 31 (Reuters) - Japan’s Nikkei share average jumped 4% on Friday, buoyed by an overnight rally on Wall Street after Microsoft (MSFT.O) issued forecasts that eased fears about the tech industry’s massive AI infrastructure spending. The Nikkei (.N225) ended 4% higher at 64,362.02 after surging 5.7% at one point. The broader Topix (.TOPX) rose 1.83%. The Bank of Japan left interest rates unchanged in a widely expected decision, while signalling that it would continue with its tightening campaign and flagging the risk of an inflation overshoot. However, the announcement had little lasting impact on the stock market. Chip-testing equipment manufacturer Advantest (6857.T) soared more than 16% and AI-focused startup investor SoftBank Group (9984.T) leapt nearly 14%. Overnight, the U.S. S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 1.7% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (.IXIC) climbed 2.8%. Microsoft surged 15.5% after forecasting quarterly sales and cloud growth above expectations. “It confirmed continued strong demand for AI,” said Nomura strategist Maki Sawada. “The U.S. rally is having a big impact on Japanese shares today.” Japanese intervention to prop up the yen on Thursday, which catapulted the currency as much as 3.6% from near a four-decade low against the U.S. dollar, was largely ignored by the stock market, Sawada said. However, automakers declined as a group on Friday, with Toyota (7203.T) down 1.9% and Honda (7267.T) losing 2.7%. A stronger yen lowers the value of overseas revenue when repatriated. Sony Group (6758.T) reversed early losses to rise as much as 4.1% after the company posted strong financial results halfway through Friday’s session. But the stock ultimately shed those gains to finish down 0.6%. Panasonic (6752.T) went limit up, leaping 19.5% at the close after raising its profit outlook on Thursday. ### Related Stocks - [SFTBY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SFTBY.US.md) - [SONY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SONY.US.md) - [MSFT.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MSFT.US.md) - [MSFD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MSFD.US.md) - [MSFU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MSFU.US.md) - [MSFO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MSFO.US.md) - [MSFL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MSFL.US.md) - [MSFX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MSFX.US.md) - [MSFW.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MSFW.US.md) - [MSFY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MSFY.US.md) - [MAGX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MAGX.US.md) - [6857.JP](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/6857.JP.md) - [6758.JP](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/6758.JP.md) - [9984.JP](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/9984.JP.md) - [6752.JP](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/6752.JP.md) - [.SPX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/.SPX.US.md) - [.IXIC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/.IXIC.US.md) - [8604.JP](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/8604.JP.md) - [NMR.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NMR.US.md) - [7203.JP](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/7203.JP.md) - [TM.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TM.US.md) - [7267.JP](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/7267.JP.md) - [HMC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/HMC.US.md) - [TOYOF.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TOYOF.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [Former Microsoft President Jeff Raikes Says AI Could Create a 'Talent Debt' by Replacing Entry-Level Work](https://longbridge.com/en/news/293906551.md) - [Microsoft blinked a little in the AI capex race. Wall Street loved it.](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294492829.md) - [Microsoft Expects FY2027 Capex To Grow Year-Over-Year](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294269889.md) - [Xbox outage shouldn’t have affected games on disc, Microsoft confirms](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294196756.md) - [Retirement Planning Group LLC Sells 4,105 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294176121.md)