Foreign investors bought Japanese shares for an eighth straight week in the week
to May 23, supported by a retreat in oil prices and gains in AI-related names
after a stronger demand outlook, data from Japan’s Ministry of Finance released
on Thursday showed. Net foreign purchases of Japanese equities totaled JPY1.08
tln (USD6.77 bln) in the week to May 23, up nearly 14% from JPY948.4 bln in the
prior week. The technology sector drew heavy flows after NVIDIA last week
forecast explosive demand for its flagship AI chips; SoftBank Group shares
jumped 17.62% last week and chip designer Socionext rose 12.26%. Year-to-date,
foreign investors have poured roughly JPY11.7 tln into Japanese stocks, compared
with about JPY742.1 bln of net buying in the same period a year earlier. On the
bond front, as the earlier sell-off eased and rising yields attracted buyers,
Japanese long-term bonds saw net inflows of JPY1.35 tln after a JPY1.03 tln
outflow the previous week. However, foreign investors trimmed short-term bond
holdings by JPY2.22 tln, the largest reduction since March 28.
