SoftBank shares surge over 16% as Japan tech stock-fueled rally lifts Nikkei 225 to record highs

CANADA - 2025/08/07: In this photo illustration, the SoftBank Group (Soft Bank) logo is seen displayed on a smartphone screen. (Photo Illustration by Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via ) Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Shares in Japanese tech-focused investment giant SoftBank Group soared 16.5% Thursday, amid a broader tech-fueled rally that saw Japan's Nikkei 225 surge to record highs. Japanese markets reopened after an extended holiday and investors rushed to catch up with a global artificial intelligence-fueled rally, sending Japanese tech names higher. While SoftBank is on course to record its best day since 2020, if gains hold, chip-testing equipment maker Advantest rose nearly 7.8%, while semiconductor equipment supplier Tokyo Electron surged 9.2%. Chip solutions provider Renesas Electronics jumped 13.8%. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Shares of SoftBank since the start of the year The rally came after Wall Street's tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite hit another record overnight, with U.S. artificial intelligence-linked stocks surging. Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. rose 18.6%, Arm Holdings advanced 13% and server maker Super Micro Computer Inc. soared 24.5%. "Japan was shut for the back end of Golden Week while global risk assets ripped, so today's move is the Nikkei pricing in three sessions in one," said Global X ETFs' investment strategist Billy Leung. …