Japan's Nikkei rises on Advantest profit outlook but Samsung weighs

Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.3% to 64,131.28 by Thursday’s midday break, supported by Advantest’s upgraded earnings outlook, Business Recorder reported. The index had climbed as much as 1.3% earlier, but Samsung Electronics’ share drop after reporting record earnings weakened sentiment. Advantest added 408 points to the Nikkei, whose net gain was 177 points.

Advantest advanced 5.4% after lifting its annual operating profit forecast by 14%, while the broader Topix slipped 0.3% to 3,979.89. Several chip and AI-related shares gave up early gains, including Tokyo Electron, down 0.9%, and SoftBank Group, lower by 0.6%; Hitachi fell 8.7% despite raising its full-year profit forecast. Investors were also looking ahead to results from hundreds of Japanese companies on Thursday and Friday, and a Bank of Japan policy announcement on Friday.