Nikkei Stock Average Turns Positive After Early Selling, Closes Morning Session at 66,227 — BigGo Finance

The Nikkei Stock Average opened lower but shifted to a buyback-driven advance in the morning session on August 26 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The index started the day down 251.94 yen from the previous close, but dip-buying gradually broadened, pushing the benchmark into positive territory. At the morning close, the Nikkei stood at 66,227.55, up 371.12 yen from the previous day. The TOPIX also finished the morning session up 24.77 points at 4,118.44.

Major U.S. stock indexes rose in the previous session, providing support for the Tokyo market. However, with the Nikkei’s 25-day moving average sitting around the 65,600 level and the 75-day moving average around the 66,300 level, both were seen as overhead resistance, leading to views that near-term upside potential was limited.

Nvidia is scheduled to report its May–July quarter earnings later today. Additionally, Fed Governor Christopher Waller is set to speak at the Jackson Hole Symposium on August 28. With these events on the horizon, investors looking to assess the outcomes refrained from aggressive buying. Selling dominated at the open, but the previous day’s pattern—where the Nikkei absorbed early selling and rebounded to snap a three-day losing streak—carried over, and the perception that the market’s downside was well-supported gradually took hold.

Reports suggesting progress in negotiations toward a cessation of hostilities between the United States and Iran led to a decline in crude oil futures prices and lower U.S. long-term interest rates in overseas markets the previous day. These developments eased investor sentiment and served as a supporting factor for Japanese equities.

In the afternoon session, the Nikkei is expected to trade in a narrow range at elevated levels. While the morning session confirmed solid downside support, the 75-day moving average around the 66,300 level remains a key overhead resistance, and the view persists that near-term upside from current levels is limited.

Among market participants, there were comments expressing a desire to monitor Nvidia’s earnings results and the stock’s reaction in after-hours trading, as well as movements in crude oil futures and U.S. long-term interest rates, while assessing whether the Nikkei can continue to extend its gains.