IBIDEN CO., LTD.

Japanese stocks look set to catch up with a global AI-led rally when trading resumes Thursday, with Nikkei 225 futures in Osaka trading about 1.4% above Friday's settlement of the underlying gauge after the Silver Week holiday. Chip-equipment makers Tokyo Electron and Advantest are expected to be among the biggest winners, according to Hu You, a senior research analyst at iFast Financial in Singapore, who also flagged chip package substrate maker Ibiden and memory maker Kioxia Holdings. The yen traded around 157.28 per dollar in Tokyo after a four-day losing streak, its longest since late August, keeping traders alert to intervention risk following the Bank of Japan's Friday rate hike and its signal that further tightening remains possible. The BOJ move, which disappointed yen traders for its lack of clearer guidance, also leaves bond traders facing a volatile reopen, with iFast's Hu You saying the hike sets a higher floor for short-term rates and is fundamentally negative for front-end JGB prices. The global AI trade has gathered steam on early signs of success for Meta Platforms' new AI agent and Alibaba Group Holding's unveiling of what it calls China's most powerful AI chip, though overnight weakness in US equities and rising oil prices may temper the optimism.

Ibiden has raised its full-year earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2027, lifting net profit by 44.8 percent from 58 billion yen to 84 billion yen, further adding to its first record profit in four years, and also announced a 2-for-1 stock split. Revenue was raised from 500 billion yen to 550 billion yen, operating profit from 90 billion yen to 127 billion yen, and ordinary profit also from 90 billion yen to 127 billion yen, with operating profit expected to be 2.0 times the previous year's result of 62 billion yen. Demand for IC package substrates for generative AI servers drove the performance, with first-quarter revenue rising 26.4 percent year-on-year to 123.2 billion yen and operating profit up 52.4 percent to 26.8 billion yen. Following the announcement, Ibiden shares were bought up to their daily limit high of 20,330 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on the 5th, closing at the upper end of the price limit range.

Ibiden hit its daily limit up after raising its full-year operating profit forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2027 to 127 billion yen from the previous 90 billion yen. First-quarter operating profit rose 52.4 percent year-on-year to 26.8 billion yen, driven by strong demand for high-value-added products for AI servers and general-purpose server products. Meanwhile, Daikin Industries saw its first-quarter operating profit rise 7.6 percent to 130.5 billion yen, but the result was merely in line with market expectations and the stock fell. IHI raised its full-year operating profit forecast to 250 billion yen from 240 billion yen, but its shares were sold after the earnings release. The Nikkei Stock Average surged 2,342 points to 66,300, extending gains sharply as Middle East concerns receded and US tech stocks rose.