Japan's Stock Market Bounces Up and Down as War and Chip Troubles Clash

Japan's Nikkei 225 — a basket of 225 major Japanese stocks — swung from 61,434 on July 29 to 66,300 on August 5, then fell 648 points (0.98%) to 65,652 on August 7, per FRED and TradingEconomics. Two forces drive the swings: Middle East conflict scaring investors, and chip stocks falling even when profits beat expectations — AMD dropped August 5 despite topping analyst guesses. Neither force shows clear signs of easing.