Tokyo stocks staged a strong rebound on Wednesday, with the Nikkei 225 closing sharply higher as chipmakers and financial shares powered the advance.

The benchmark index finished at 66,866.47 points, up 1,385.20 points or 2.11%. The market opened higher and climbed throughout the session, at one point surging more than 1,000 points and successfully reclaiming the 66,000-point mark, with gains spread broadly across individual stocks. The rally was driven by a combination of overnight strength in U.S. semiconductor shares, a stream of positive news on artificial intelligence (AI), and falling international oil prices, all of which lifted risk appetite significantly. The Tokyo Stock Price Index (TOPIX) also moved higher, jumping more than 34 points in early trading. The market completely reversed the corrective weakness seen the previous day caused by ex-dividend adjustments following the record date for interim dividends, with bullish forces in control throughout the session and clear signs of capital inflows.

The stabilization of U.S. tech stocks overnight provided a shot in the arm for Asian markets. In particular, reports of a sharp revenue increase at U.S.-based OpenAI directly ignited investor enthusiasm across the technology and AI supply chains. SoftBank Group, a major backer of OpenAI, saw its shares aggressively chased by funds during the session, while heavyweight semiconductor equipment giant Tokyo Electron and other major names also surged, becoming the driving forces behind the Nikkei's rally.

Easing energy cost pressures also boosted market confidence. A previously halted Saudi oil pipeline has been repaired, noticeably reducing caution in commodity markets over energy supply. The pullback in U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures provided a direct benefit to Japan's economy and listed companies, which rely heavily on energy imports, effectively improving investor risk appetite.

Beyond the aggressive surge in technology sectors, financial assets such as banking stocks, which offer high dividends and expectations of widening interest rate spreads, played a stabilizing role during the session, forming an excellent "offense and defense" rotation with chip stocks. Overall, after experiencing multiple holiday closures and ex-dividend day volatility since mid-September, the Tokyo stock market has shown remarkable resilience and elasticity in late September. With corporate governance reforms at the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) continuing to deepen, overseas investors' enthusiasm for allocating funds to Japanese equities remains high. In the near term, market focus will shift to the upcoming release of U.S. core inflation data, such as the PCE indicator, and the latest movements in the yen exchange rate. If the macroeconomic environment remains stable, Japanese stocks are expected to continue their upward bias with high-level fluctuations.