Nikkei 225 Rises 0.43% in Early Trade, Kioxia Gains Nearly 3%; South Korean Markets Closed

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AuthorYulia Zeng

Aug 17, 2026 12:43 AM

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Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.43% to 69,012.38 points on August 17, driven by strong tech stocks like Kioxia and SoftBank Group amid ongoing AI infrastructure demand. Meanwhile, US markets retreated broadly following weak economic data, breaking the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index’s three-week winning streak. Despite this, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq secured their third consecutive weekly gains, underpinned by robust memory chip performance, where SanDisk and SK Hynix surged significantly over the week.

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TradingKey - On August 17, Japan's Nikkei 225 Index (JPN225) extended its gains after opening higher, rising 0.43% in early trading to 69,012.38 points, while South Korea's stock market was closed for the day for a substitute Liberation Day holiday.

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Source: TradingView

Japanese tech stocks performed strongly in morning trading, with Kioxia rising 2.85% to 55,270 yen (approximately $348) and SoftBank Group edging up 0.07% to 5,743 yen. Memory chip stocks extended their previous strength as investors remained focused on AI infrastructure demand and changes in the memory industry's climate.

Weak US economic data last Friday caused the three major US stock indexes to broadly retreat. The S&P 500 Index fell 0.17% to 7,785.76 points; the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.20% to 53,732.41 points; and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.28% to 26,729.16 points.

However, on a weekly basis, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq still rose 0.36% and 0.14%, respectively, recording a third consecutive week of gains, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.56% for the week.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index snapped a three-week winning streak, but memory chip stocks continued to perform strongly. SanDisk (SNDK) surged more than 7% on Friday, bringing its cumulative weekly gain to 35%; SK Hynix (SKHY) also gained over 20% for the week.

This content was translated using AI and reviewed for clarity. It is for informational purposes only.

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