Japanese Equity Specialist, Ortus Advisors

Andrew Jackson

Japanese Equity Specialist

Ortus Advisors

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>Japan saw a deep fade off the open for AI related plays but a more sustained bid expected today with US pushing higher.</li>
<li>Micron begins mass production of HBM4 for Rubin chips, positive for Micronics which is -20% off its recent highs.</li>
<li>News from NVDA’s GTC event drove optical interconnect name Lumentum as much as +16.8% off its opening lows.</li>
</ul>


Japan saw a deep fade off the open for AI related plays but a more sustained bid expected today with US pushing higher.
Micron begins mass production of HBM4 for Rubin chips, positive for Micronics which is -20% off its recent highs.
News from NVDA’s GTC event drove optical interconnect name Lumentum as much as +16.8% off its opening lows.


Japan Morning Connection: Optical Names Plunged Then Swung Back on News from NVDA’s GTC Event

Japan Specialist

Mark Chadwick

<ul>
<li>Market sentiment shifted to distressed as the Nikkei plunged over 2,800 points on Monday—its third-largest point drop ever—entering correction from a February peak.</li>
<li>The escalating Middle East war, with the Strait of Hormuz closed and Iran's new leader vowing resistance, drove Brent crude to spike to $119/barrel before stabilizing near $100.</li>
<li>Investors await the March 19 BOJ meeting, expecting a rate hold but hypersensitive to any hawkish shift to stem yen weakness, as the early-2026 Takaichi Rally hangs by a thread.</li>
</ul>


Market sentiment shifted to distressed as the Nikkei plunged over 2,800 points on Monday—its third-largest point drop ever—entering correction from a February peak.
The escalating Middle East war, with the Strait of Hormuz closed and Iran's new leader vowing resistance, drove Brent crude to spike to $119/barrel before stabilizing near $100.
Investors await the March 19 BOJ meeting, expecting a rate hold but hypersensitive to any hawkish shift to stem yen weakness, as the early-2026 Takaichi Rally hangs by a thread.


Japan Strategy Weekly | The Nikkei’s "Black Monday" And Beyond

<ul>
<li>Brent surged after Khamenei vowed to open new fronts and keep the Straits closed, with numerous vessels hit.</li>
<li>Memory takes a breather after three days of gains with Kioxia likely finally in for a down day.</li>
<li>Astroscale likely a buy on the open after signing a launch agreement with German space company Isari .</li>
</ul>


Brent surged after Khamenei vowed to open new fronts and keep the Straits closed, with numerous vessels hit.
Memory takes a breather after three days of gains with Kioxia likely finally in for a down day.
Astroscale likely a buy on the open after signing a launch agreement with German space company Isari .


Japan Morning Connection: Trump's 'Very Complete' War Rages On as Khamenei Vows to Open New Fronts

<ul>
<li>Expect the usual 'Takaichi trade' suspects to continue trading higher with the election result surpassing expectations.</li>
<li>US switches to risk, with tech and AI surging and NVDA clocking a +7.9% gain after the market decided big tech’s $650bn planned capex for 2026 wasn’t so bad.</li>
<li>Expect big gains for tech and SPE with the markets set to surge after US moves + election win.</li>
</ul>


Expect the usual 'Takaichi trade' suspects to continue trading higher with the election result surpassing expectations.
US switches to risk, with tech and AI surging and NVDA clocking a +7.9% gain after the market decided big tech’s $650bn planned capex for 2026 wasn’t so bad.
Expect big gains for tech and SPE with the markets set to surge after US moves + election win.


Japan Morning Connection: Takaichi Blows the Doors off and Secures a Super-Majority for the LDP

<ul>
<li>Meta, Tesla and Microsoft all post big capex guidance beats which sets strong tone for JP SPE.</li>
<li>Lam Research numbers beat, while Advantest AH yesterday knocked it out of the park.</li>
<li>Seagate +19% will add fuel to the fire for HDD components and memory names.</li>
</ul>


Meta, Tesla and Microsoft all post big capex guidance beats which sets strong tone for JP SPE.
Lam Research numbers beat, while Advantest AH yesterday knocked it out of the park.
Seagate +19% will add fuel to the fire for HDD components and memory names.


Japan Morning Connection: Huge Earnings After Hours All Point to Increased AI Capex Spending

Japan

Lasertec Corporation develops, designs, manufactures and markets photomask inspection systems to make semiconductor devices, confocal scanning laser microscopes and liquid crystal display (LCD) inspection systems.

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Lasertec Corp (6920 JP)

Japan Morning Connection: Optical Names Plunged Then Swung Back on News from NVDA’s GTC Event

NVDA's mixed messages sent optical names see-sawing. Memory roars to record highs. Kokusai still fails to catch a bid despite good positioning.

Andrew Jackson

Japan Strategy Weekly | The Nikkei’s "Black Monday" And Beyond

Market sentiment shifts to distressed as Nikkei plunges over 2,800 points, Brent crude spikes due to Middle East tensions, investors cautious...

Mark Chadwick

Japan Morning Connection: Trump's 'Very Complete' War Rages On as Khamenei Vows to Open New Fronts

Markets closed at session lows as tech and AI were sold off, with rising oil prices adding to the pressure heading into Japan's open.

Andrew Jackson

Japan Morning Connection: Takaichi Blows the Doors off and Secures a Super-Majority for the LDP

With risk sentiment shifted up, look to play the bounce with Lasertec which was -17% after earnings miss and Kioxia which was -11% last week.

Andrew Jackson

Japan Morning Connection: Huge Earnings After Hours All Point to Increased AI Capex Spending

Meta is surging +11% after reporting 1Q sales guidance. Tesla plans to invest $2bn in Musk’s xAI. Expect whole SPE ecosystem in Japan to be sharply...

Andrew Jackson

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)

Japan Morning Connection: Optical Names Plunged Then Swung Back on News from NVDA’s GTC Event

NVDA's mixed messages sent optical names see-sawing. Memory roars to record highs. Kokusai still fails to catch a bid despite good positioning.

Andrew Jackson

Japan Strategy Weekly | The Nikkei’s "Black Monday" And Beyond

​Market sentiment shifts to distressed as Nikkei plunges over 2,800 points, Brent crude spikes due to Middle East tensions, investors cautious...

Mark Chadwick

Japan Morning Connection: Trump's 'Very Complete' War Rages On as Khamenei Vows to Open New Fronts

Markets closed at session lows as tech and AI were sold off, with rising oil prices adding to the pressure heading into Japan's open.

Andrew Jackson

Japan Morning Connection: Takaichi Blows the Doors off and Secures a Super-Majority for the LDP

With risk sentiment shifted up, look to play the bounce with Lasertec which was -17% after earnings miss and Kioxia which was -11% last week.

Andrew Jackson

Japan Morning Connection: Huge Earnings After Hours All Point to Increased AI Capex Spending

Meta is surging +11% after reporting 1Q sales guidance. Tesla plans to invest $2bn in Musk’s xAI. Expect whole SPE ecosystem in Japan to be sharply...

Andrew Jackson

Market sentiment shifts to distressed as Nikkei plunges over 2,800 points, Brent crude spikes due to Middle East tensions, investors cautious...