Nikkei is back on the rise, driven by the rise in chip and pharmaceutical stocks

Japan’s Nikkei index rose strongly on Monday as investors bought back stocks whose prices had fallen after the index recorded its worst weekly performance in 2023.

The Nikkei rose 0.85 percent to end trading at 32,678.62 points. The broader Topix index also rose 0.39 percent.

Last week, the Nikkei fell daily in a week in which trading sessions were shorter due to a holiday but witnessed important meetings of central banks, including the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan on Friday. The Nikkei fell 3.37 percent last week, marking the worst weekly performance for the index this year.

The healthcare sector recorded the best performance in Monday’s session, rising 2.69 percent, driven by the advance of the best-performing stock on the Nikkei index today, Daiichi Sankyo, which jumped 7.56 percent.

Technology stocks also recovered, tracking their American counterparts, from Friday. The shares of Advantest, a chip testing equipment company, rose 3.87 percent, and the shares of Screen Holdings, a chip manufacturing equipment company, rose 4.89 percent.

Stocks that rose last week witnessed a selling wave on Monday, with the banking sector declining 2.62 percent and shipping 1.94 percent.