Tokyo — January 5, 2026 — 2:04 a.m. ET
- Nikkei 225: 51,865.00 (+3.03%), day high 52,050
- TOPIX: 3,477.52 (+2.01%), day high 3,486.00
- USD/JPY: 157.295 high
Nikkei ripped higher.
The Nikkei 225 closed up 3.03% at 51,865 in the Tokyo stock market’s first session of 2026, and TOPIX finished at 3,477.52, up 2.01% after touching 3,486 intraday.
Risk-on hit Tokyo.
Traders chased chips and exporters as the dollar pushed to 157.295 yen and BOJ chief Kazuo Ueda talked about more rate hikes, while Venezuela headlines barely slowed the bid.
Chips did the hauling.
Advantest jumped 6.37% and Tokyo Electron climbed about 6%, tracking a 4% surge in the U.S. semiconductor index on Friday and dragging index points with them.
Exporters got the tailwind.
The cash Nikkei traded between 51,140 and 52,050 before it settled just under that 52,000 handle, and the weak-yen tape kept buyers leaning forward into the close.
Rates stayed noisy.
Ueda told Japan’s bankers the BOJ keeps raising interest rates if growth and inflation track its forecasts, and that message turns the yen into the day’s real kill-switch for equities.
Data gave cover.
A read on December factory activity showed the slump stabilized after five straight months of deterioration, and macro desks treated it like permission to add Japan exposure fast.
TOPIX kept flexing breadth.
The broad gauge closed at 3,477.52 and tagged 3,486 at the high, so today’s move spread beyond a handful of Nikkei megacaps.
Yeah, but risk stays.
A faster BOJ path plus any yen squeeze hits exporters hard, and geopolitics stays live after Washington captured Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro over the weekend.
Derivatives flashed a tell.
CME Nikkei 225 yen futures open interest slid to 92,826 contracts as of Sunday’s close, so positioning looked lighter than the price action in cash.
Next catalyst: U.S. jobs.
Traders get ISM data early-week and nonfarm payrolls on Friday, then the BOJ’s Jan. 22–23 meeting and outlook report.
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