Tokyo Market Summary: Nikkei Average falls for the first time in 4 days and the depreciation of the yen corrects, the NY Federal Reserve Bank President's cold water 155 yen is the line of defense

Top news
Is the depreciation of the yen corrected, the NY Fed president cold water 155 yen is the line of defense
The appreciation of the yen, which had progressed to the 153 yen level at one point, was easily returned to the 155 yen level due to statements made by senior US Federal Reserve (Fed) officials. As of yesterday's 153 yen range, this section says, “It's easy for yen sales pressure to continue until summer. Basically, I wrote that this is because the Fed's attitude of “maintaining the current high level of interest rates for a long time” (hold and longer) will not change. As a side note, in the past, it was called “higher and longer,” and it was said that a high interest rate level would be maintained for a long time while including the possibility of further interest rate increases.

Yen depreciation progresses, 63.9% of companies are “negative for profit” private sector survey
The depreciation of the yen is putting pressure on corporate profits. According to a survey announced by Teikoku Databank on the 17th, the total number of companies that answered that the progress of the depreciation of the yen had a negative impact on their profits rose to 63.9% of the total. The negative impact on sales was 35.0% compared to the same period. Over 30% answered “both profit and sales are negative,” and the burden on companies due to exchange rate fluctuations is increasing.

Notable stocks
Tokyo Electron stocks fall for the first time in 3 days, and the fall in US AMAT is also burdensome
$Tokyo Electron(8035.JP)$fell for the first time in 3 days. It temporarily depreciated 2.47% to 35,910 yen. Of the US semiconductor manufacturing equipment $Applied Materials(AMAT.US)$fell due to overtime trading on the evening of the 16th, and sales have spread to a corner of semiconductor-related stocks in the Tokyo market. Domestic semiconductor-related stocks such as Toelec reacted rapidly the day before, and sales for profit determination purposes have also become a burden.

The stock price of Nippon Steel Works is high day by day, and defense-related orders are expanding
$The Japan Steel Works(5631.JP)$It has continued to grow for 3 days. It rose 8.16% to 4504 yen, and the year-to-date high was updated daily. At the financial results briefing held from 13:00 on the 16th, it was announced that orders for “defense-related equipment” for the fiscal year ending 2025/3 are likely to be 113 billion yen, a 60% increase from the previous fiscal year. The company's business, which handles artillery and armored vehicles, is expected to expand in response to the government's defense budget expansion, and expectations for performance growth have increased, and it continues to attract purchases.

Honda stocks go back and forth, EV investment doubles, and there are also voices of “concern about the impact on earnings”
$Honda Motor(7267.JP)$has gone one step forward and one backward. At one point, 1,688 yen 50 yen, which was 1.17% lower, was added, but after that, there were scenes where it turned slightly higher. On the 16th, it was announced that investment amounts for electric vehicles (EVs) and software up to fiscal 2030 will be raised to 10 trillion yen. It is double the previous plan, and there is an aim to accelerate technology development. It seems that sales took precedence in the morning due to concerns about the impact on earnings due to the increase in investment burdens.

Distribution source: Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Bloomberg