Nikkei 225 Moves Quietly During Holiday Trading Amid Continued Low Liquidity

Japan | EcoPulse24

The Japanese Nikkei 225 index saw a slight uptick in early Thursday trading amid limited activity due to the holiday season, with the so-called 'Santa Rally' continuing in global markets after the S&P 500 closed at a new record high in a shortened session.

The Nikkei rose by about 59 points, or 0.1%, reaching 50,403 points, recovering minor losses from the previous session as sentiment improved following Wall Street's strong performance.

Trading volumes remained weak, as investors awaited the Japanese cabinet's decision on the 2026 fiscal year budget, estimated at around 122 trillion yen - a potential second consecutive record - possibly to be officially adopted as early as Friday.

Leading stocks provided limited support: Toyota Motor rose 0.5%, SoftBank Group climbed about 1.0%, Tokyo Electron gained 0.9%, Nintendo advanced 0.8%, and Itochu was up 0.6%.

Conversely, Sapporo Holdings fell 0.5%, despite reports that a consortium led by KKR and PAG had agreed to acquire its real estate arm, valued at roughly $3 billion, as the Japanese beverage company seeks to restructure and focus on its core operations.

Analytical View | EcoPulse24

The Nikkei 225's performance reflects a state of anticipation and calm in Japan’s market, driven by seasonally low liquidity and local developments, especially the 2026 budget. In the near term, the index may remain range-bound, with indirect influence from strong US markets, pending clearer fiscal and economic policy signals from Japan.