The Nikkei 225 closed 545.82 points higher at 64,621.24 (up 0.85%) and the TOPIX rose 34.52 points to 4,043.73 (up 0.86%), recovering from two consecutive sessions of losses. Advantest was the largest contributor to the Nikkei, adding about 123 points, followed by SoftBank Group with 55 points, as investors remained wary of the scale and profitability of AI spending. Japan's September exports rose 16.7% year on year, extending growth to 13 consecutive months, though this was below the 20.1% economists had expected; shipments to the U.S. rose 22.9% and to China 8.6%. Imports rose 18.9%, pushing the September trade deficit to 536.6 billion yen, well above the 181 billion yen expected, as the Middle East conflict raised energy costs. The Bank of Japan raised its benchmark rate to 1.25% in September, its highest level in 31 years.
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Related tickers and likely impact
USD/JPY
▼ Likely negativeRelevance: low
| Market | Currencies |
|---|---|
| Close on 10/20/2026 | 158.173 |
| Change that session | -0.23% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
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