Nikkei 225 Closes Up 0.74%, Kioxia Surges 15%; South Korean Markets Closed

TradingKey - On Monday, August 17, Japan's Nikkei 225 Index (JPN225) closed up 0.74% at 69,220.25 points, approaching the 70,000 mark; South Korean stock markets were closed for a holiday, with no trading conducted on that day.

Source: TradingView

Japanese tech stocks significantly outperformed the broader market, with memory chipmaker Kioxia surging 15.07% to 61,840 yen (approximately $389); SoftBank Group rose 2.56% to close at 5,886 yen. The memory sector continued its previous strong performance, as optimistic market expectations for AI infrastructure and high-performance memory demand continued to support related stocks.

On the news front, Japan's latest economic data signaled a growth slowdown. Data released by Japan's Cabinet Office showed that real GDP grew at an annualized rate of 1.1% in the second quarter of 2026, lower than the revised 1.9% in the previous quarter and below market expectations of 2%.

In the previous trading session, the three major U.S. stock indices all closed lower; however, SanDisk (SNDK) rose over 7%, Seagate Technology (STX) gained more than 5%, and Western Digital (WDC) climbed over 4%. The ongoing strength in memory stocks further boosted sentiment across related supply chains in Asia.