Foreign Investors Buy Japanese Stocks for 8th Week on AI Rally

Foreign Investors Continue Buying Japanese Stocks for Eighth Week on AI Rally

Foreign investors purchased Japanese stocks for the eighth consecutive week through May 23, with net investments reaching 1.08 trillion yen ($6.77 billion), a nearly 14% increase from the previous week's 948.4 billion yen. The buying spree was driven by easing oil prices and a rally in AI-related shares.

Tech and AI Stocks Lead the Charge

Nvidia's forecast of blockbuster demand for its AI chips boosted the tech sector. AI investor SoftBank Group surged 17.62%, while chip designer Socionext gained 12.26%. Foreign investors have pumped nearly 11.7 trillion yen into Japanese stocks this year, compared to 742.1 billion yen in the same period last year.

Bond Market Dynamics

Japanese long-term bonds saw net purchases of 1.35 trillion yen after outflows of 1.03 trillion yen the prior week, as higher yields attracted investors. However, foreigners divested 2.22 trillion yen from short-term instruments, the most since March 28. Japanese investors withdrew 358.7 billion yen from foreign equities, marking their third weekly net sale in four weeks.