Trump's Withdrawal Signal Boosts Nikkei Index by 4%

On April 1, the Japanese stock market rebounded sharply as Trump hinted that the U.S. aims to end its war in Iraq within the next three weeks. Additionally, better-than-expected results from Japan's Tankan business survey also boosted market sentiment. The Nikkei 225 index rose by 4% at one point in Tokyo, while the broader TOPIX index saw a maximum increase of 3.8%. Prior to this, both benchmark indices had just experienced their worst March in 18 years. Electronics and banking stocks were the most significant contributors to the TOPIX index's rise, with Kioxia Holdings, Fujikura Ltd., and Rohm Semiconductor among the top performers in the Nikkei index. Hiroshi Namioka, chief strategist at T&D Asset Management, stated, 'The possibility of the U.S. withdrawing from Iraq has now become reasonable.' He believes this helps improve market sentiment, but he also noted that 'it's currently difficult to make any real bets in either direction.' (Jin Shi)