Nikkei 225 Rises 1.73% on Oct 27, 2026 as Anthropic IPO Lifts Chips

Key takeaways

• The Nikkei 225 rose 1,078.72 points, or 1.73%, to 63,268.37 on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, ending a three-session losing streak, according to Jiji Press and Yahoo Finance data.
• The broader TOPIX gained 24.39 points, or 0.61%, to 3,997.37, Jiji Press reported, a smaller rise that shows the rally was concentrated in AI and chip heavyweights.
• Anthropic's IPO filing lifted AI-related shares, Reuters reported: Advantest closed up 8.98% at ¥33,860, SoftBank Group up 4.95% and Tokyo Electron up 3.07%, per Yahoo Finance.
• Daiichi Sankyo was the standout decliner, closing down 8.16% at ¥2,594.5, according to Yahoo Finance; the reason was not given in the reports reviewed.
• The yen weakened: USD/JPY was 157.80 at the Tokyo close, up 0.52%, per Yahoo Finance, while the 10-year Japanese government bond (JGB) yield slipped to 2.797%, according to Investing.com.

Session recap

Tokyo stocks bounced on Tuesday as buyers returned to the AI trade. The Nikkei 225 opened at 62,569.08, traded as high as 63,684.69 and as low as 62,389.47, and closed at 63,268.37, according to Yahoo Finance data. For the wider region, see Asian and global markets today; for Monday's session, when the Nikkei fell 0.80%, see our October 26 Japan daily brief. The table compares Tuesday's close with Monday's close of 62,189.65 (Nikkei) and 3,972.98 (TOPIX).

USD/JPY figures are Yahoo Finance five-minute quotes at the Tokyo equity close; Jiji Press's 5 p.m. Tokyo forex quote showed the dollar at 157.86-87 yen. The 10-year yield is Investing.com's daily reading for the Tokyo session (bond trading ends at 06:00 UTC); Trading Economics, which uses a different feed, showed about 2.79%, near its lowest level since early August.

What drove it

Anthropic's IPO filing revives the AI trade

The main catalyst was Anthropic's filing for an initial public offering. The filing showed steep losses alongside rapid revenue growth, and it lifted AI-related shares in Tokyo, Reuters reported in a midday story carried by Business Recorder. Jiji Press said AI-linked stocks were bought back after recent selling driven by concerns about AI companies' finances, and quoted a securities house official who described the Anthropic news as the first positive cue for the AI sector in a while. Our report on Anthropic's public S-1 filing covers the prospectus in detail.

Daisuke Hashizume, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities, said: "The market was relieved by the news about Anthropic's IPO," according to Reuters. He added that investors remained cautious about buying ahead of this week's earnings from US cloud giants such as Alphabet and Microsoft.

Chip heavyweights carry the Nikkei

Advantest, a maker of chip-testing equipment, gave the Nikkei its biggest boost, Reuters reported. It closed up 8.98% at ¥33,860, according to Yahoo Finance, after closing at ¥31,070 on Monday. SoftBank Group, a major investor in AI companies, gained 4.95% and Tokyo Electron 3.07%. Because the Nikkei 225 is price-weighted, a few expensive stocks moving sharply can lift it far more than the TOPIX; read our explainer on the difference between the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX. For a closer look at the individual movers, see our report on the Advantest-led rally.

Wall Street's lead

Tokyo followed a strong US session. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 2.8% overnight, Reuters reported, while Investing.com put the gain at about 3%, its biggest daily rise in more than a month. On Monday the S&P 500 gained 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite 0.8%, according to Investing.com.

Narrow breadth and defensive selling

The rally was not broad. As of 01:42 UTC, 49% of more than 1,500 stocks on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Prime Market had risen, 47% had fallen and 2% were flat, Reuters reported. Jiji Press said more than half of Prime-listed issues finished the morning lower, and that defensive stocks, which had attracted buying until Monday, were among the decliners. That pattern explains why the TOPIX rose only 0.61% while the Nikkei gained 1.73%.

Daiichi Sankyo

Drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo was the Nikkei's biggest percentage decliner in early trade, Reuters reported, and it closed down 8.16% at ¥2,594.5, according to Yahoo Finance. The cause has not been confirmed in the reports reviewed for this brief.

Yen, bonds and oil

The yen weakened, with USD/JPY rising 0.52% to 157.80 at the Tokyo close, per Yahoo Finance; the cause of the move has not been confirmed. The 10-year JGB yield slipped to 2.797%, according to Investing.com. Trading Economics said the yield stayed near its lowest level since early August as market volatility and Middle East tensions supported demand for safe-haven assets. Crude extended its losses on Tuesday after nearing six-month highs, as diplomatic efforts raised hopes of easing tensions, Investing.com reported.

Political & policy watch

Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan

The US Federal Reserve's two-day meeting runs October 27–28, according to the Fed's calendar. The Bank of Japan holds its Monetary Policy Meeting on October 29–30 and publishes its quarterly Outlook Report on October 30, according to the BoJ schedule. The BoJ is expected to leave rates unchanged this week, with a possible hike in December, Trading Economics reported. A weaker yen tends to support exporters' earnings in yen terms, which is one reason currency moves around these meetings matter for Tokyo stocks.

Middle East tensions

Attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure kept concerns about supply disruption alive, even as diplomacy eased crude prices, Investing.com reported. Japan imports most of its crude oil, so energy prices feed into its trade balance, inflation and the yen.

What to watch next

• October 28: Federal Reserve policy decision at the end of the October 27–28 meeting, per the Fed's calendar.
• This week: Earnings from US cloud giants including Alphabet and Microsoft, which Reuters said kept Tokyo investors cautious.
• October 29–30: Bank of Japan Monetary Policy Meeting; decision and Outlook Report on October 30, per the BoJ.
• December 8–9: Next Fed meeting, with updated economic projections.
• December 17–18: Next BoJ meeting.

Risk checklist for readers

• Concentrated rallies. Tuesday's Nikkei gain came mostly from a few chip and AI stocks while roughly half of Prime Market stocks fell; compare the Nikkei with the TOPIX before judging the whole market.
• Headline-driven moves. News about a single company, such as an IPO filing abroad, can move whole sectors in Tokyo; such moves can reverse quickly.
• Back-to-back central bank decisions. The Fed and the BoJ decide within days of each other, and yields, the yen and stocks can swing around announcements.
• Overseas earnings. Results from large US technology companies often move Tokyo chip stocks the next morning.
• Currency risk. For investors outside Japan, returns depend on USD/JPY as well as share prices.
• Check primary data. JPX, Nikkei Inc., the Ministry of Finance and the BoJ publish official figures; data feeds can differ slightly, as the 10-year yield readings above show.

This article is for information only and is not investment advice.