SoftBank Soars as Tech Stocks Rally Amid Rate Hike Fears

SoftBank Group surged more than 5% in Tokyo on Friday as technology shares rallied amid easing fears of another US interest-rate increase.

The Nikkei 225 climbed 1.8% to 69,523.56, with SoftBank leading the charge after softer-than-expected US producer-price data pushed the probability of a Federal Reserve rate increase in September down to about 35%.

SoftBank's valuation is increasingly tied to AI assets including Arm and OpenAI, making it more sensitive to global technology sentiment.

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) may spoil the party with another interest-rate hike, which would strengthen the yen and reduce the value of SoftBank's dollar-denominated overseas assets.