Nikkei Rises 1.3% as Asian Markets Await High-Stakes Trump-Xi Summit

The Nikkei index returned from a five-day holiday with a 1.3% gain, led by sharp rallies in semiconductor stocks like Ibiden and Socionext, as markets awaited a high-stakes White House summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Mixed trends and partial trading characterized Asian markets as the Tokyo Stock Exchange resumed operations with the Nikkei index rising 1.3%. Meanwhile, the Hang Seng index fell 0.4% and the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.8%. The Seoul exchange remained closed due to the Chuseok harvest holiday.

Semiconductor Stocks Rally and Commodities

Japanese chip stocks surged upon returning from holiday, catching up with Wall Street's tech sector gains where the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) jumped 8%. Ibiden led the Nikkei by surging 15.5% amid massive demand for AI chip substrates and reports that Nvidia provided a huge advance payment. Socionext jumped 13% due to a heavy short squeeze.

In the energy markets, Brent crude fell 0.9% to $102.1 a barrel, while WTI crude dropped 0.9% to $91.4 a barrel. The yield on 10-year US Treasuries stabilized at 5.11% following a 14-basis-point surge the previous day.

Markets Await Trump-Xi Summit

Global markets are closely monitoring the upcoming White House summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The leaders are set to discuss trade relations, artificial intelligence disputes, and Iran.

"The US and China have extended their trade war truce, allowing tariffs to remain lower for longer and securing the continued flow of critical minerals," US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News, though Chinese authorities have not yet confirmed the statement.