Nikkei 225 Rises for Third Straight Day to 61,248 as AI Chip Stocks Rebound Despite U.S. Inflation Worries

TOKYO — Japanese stocks rose for a third straight session on Wednesday as investors bought semiconductor and artificial intelligence-related shares. Strong earnings from U.S. cloud provider CoreWeave restored some optimism to the battered AI sector.

The Nikkei 225 closed up 789.01 points, or 1.31%, at 61,248.59, its highest close since the steep selloff last week. The index opened at 60,525.30 and traded between 60,318.08 and 61,390.79 during the session.

The gains came despite renewed concerns over U.S. inflation and interest rates. Data released Tuesday showed U.S. consumer prices rose more than expected in October. That pushed Treasury yields sharply higher and raised expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates again. Wall Street's major indexes fell Tuesday, with the Nasdaq Composite losing 0.74%.

However, sentiment improved after CoreWeave reported third-quarter revenue up 168% to $3.66 billion and raised its full-year outlook. The AI cloud company had been at the center of worries about slowing AI investment, and its results lifted chip and AI-related shares across Asia.

Wednesday's advance extends a strong recovery. The Nikkei rose 2.87% on Tuesday to close at 60,459.58, reclaiming the 60,000 level, after gaining 1,340.73 points on Monday to finish at 58,775.50.

Those gains followed a historic rout. The Nikkei plunged 9.25% last week to close at 57,434.77 on Friday, Nov. 6, after a sharp selloff in U.S. technology and AI stocks. On Nov. 6, the index fell as much as 6.2% in morning trading.

Even after the three-day rebound, the Nikkei remains well below its record. The index closed at an all-time high of 72,353.96 on June 22, 2026, and is still about 15% below that level. Over the past 52 weeks, it has traded between about 48,235 and 72,832.

Other Asian markets were mixed. South Korea's KOSPI jumped 2.6% and Taiwan's Taiex rose 3.6% as chip giant TSMC gained. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped 0.7%, and the Shanghai Composite eased 0.3%.

Analysts said the outlook for Japanese stocks remains closely tied to U.S. interest rates and the AI trade. A string of rate increases by the Federal Reserve could pressure global growth stocks. However, it could also widen the gap between U.S. and Japanese interest rates, which would weaken the yen and support exporters.

Investors will be watching U.S. economic data and upcoming corporate earnings for further signals. Nvidia reports third-quarter results on Nov. 17, an event widely seen as a key test for the AI sector.

The Nikkei 225 is a price-weighted index of 225 large companies listed on the Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.