Asian Stocks: Japanese stocks rose 0.4% for the entire day, with Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. up over 6%

Japanese stocks continue to rise, driven by U.S. technology stocks. The Nikkei average index rose over 300 points and broke through 36,000 points, closing up 134 points or 0.4% at 35,839 points, the highest closing in a month.

In the semiconductor sector, Shin-Etsu Chemical announced a large-scale buyback, with its stock price soaring 6.6%. Renesas Electronics and Rohm fell 2.2% and 3%, while Disco and Advantest dropped 4.5% and 4.8%. Tokyo Electron rose 0.2%. Fiber optic manufacturer Fujikura fell 1.2%, and SoftBank dropped 0.7%. In the heavy industry sector, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and IHI rose 2.4% and 2.7%, while Kawasaki Heavy Industries rose 1.1%.

In the automotive sector, Mitsubishi Motors, Subaru, and Honda rose 1% to 1.2%, Nissan rose 2.3%, and Toyota increased by 3.6%. In the banking sector, MUFG and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial rose 2.1% and 2%, while Mizuho Financial rose 1.7%. Brokerage firm Daiwa Securities reported a 24% decline in quarterly earnings, in line with expectations, and its stock price rose 1.8%.

In other stocks, internet company DeNA rose 2.6%, and retail company Fast Retailing rose 2.6%.

The U.S. dollar rose to 143.76 yen