Japanese equities staged a recovery on Wednesday, halting a two-day downturn as technology stocks spearheaded the advance. The Nikkei 225 advanced 1.94% to reach 66,754, as the Topix index registered a gain of 1.67%. SoftBank Group experienced a significant upswing of 6.6% following disclosures that OpenAI is pursuing a fundraising round of at least $30 billion, underpinned by a valuation of $1.4 trillion.
Other technology equities demonstrated strength, with Kioxia Holdings advancing by 1.2%, Taiyo Yuden increasing by 2.3% and Fujikura rising 5.9%.
Investor optimism received a boost from a pronounced decline in crude oil values. Saudi Arabia reinstated approximately half of the capacity of its East-West pipeline, concurrent with a fresh directive from the US government for the release of strategic petroleum reserves.
Despite a slight increase in September, the Nikkei 225 registered its initial quarterly deficit since the first quarter of 2025. The period under review was pressured by the protracted US-Iran conflict, escalating bond yields, and a July market correction in equities linked to artificial intelligence.