Editor’s Note
Today’s market roundup highlights a record-setting Nikkei Average, fueled by political anticipation. Key movers include energy and consumer goods stocks, alongside notable IPO activity.
- The Nikkei Average has updated its record high for consecutive days! Buying continues in anticipation of the House of Representatives dissolution.
- INPEX bought on high crude oil prices; Mandom receives acquisition proposal from US fund.
- PowerX doubles after opening price; the first IPO of the year is TO Books.
Record High for Consecutive Days! Buying Continues in Anticipation of House Dissolution
[Today’s Market]
The Nikkei Stock Average rose sharply for the third consecutive day! It updated its all-time high for consecutive days. In the US market on the 13th, major stock indices all fell back. Concerns smoldered over the ongoing anti-government protests in Iran and worries about the independence of the Federal Reserve (FRB) under pressure from President Trump. Financial giant JP Morgan Chase fell -4.19% following its earnings report. Meanwhile, reports that “Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi intends to inform LDP executives on the 14th of her plan to dissolve the House of Representatives at the start of the ordinary Diet session” led to continued buying in today’s Tokyo market in anticipation of dissolution and a general election. The Nikkei Stock Average rose to 54,487.32 yen (+938.16 yen) at one point in the afternoon session. Advantest and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries were firm, but Kioxia Holdings and SoftBank Group were weak. The forex market temporarily moved to the yen weakening side to the 159 yen per dollar level, and long-term interest rates temporarily reached 2.185%, the highest level in about 27 years.
The US December Consumer Price Index (CPI) announced on the 13th was +2.6% year-on-year on a core basis (excluding energy and food), below market expectations. Tonight in the US, November’s Producer Price Index (PPI) and retail sales will be announced.
[Nikkei Average] 54341.23 yen ↑↑ (+792.07 yen)
[Growth 250] 706.38 ↓ (-6.20)
[NY Dow] 49191.99 dollars ↓ (-398.21 dollars, 13th)
[Nasdaq] 23709.873 → (-24.031, 13th)
[Today’s Hot Stocks]
◆ INPEX (1605)
3266 yen (+105 yen)
Mining topped the sectoral gainers. Concerns over the situation in Iran, where anti-government protests continue, pushed the NY crude oil futures market (WTI near-month) to a two-month high at one point, leading to buying in related stocks. Some reports say the death toll from the protests has reached 2,000. Also, US President Trump called for the continuation of the protests on social media and stated that “support will arrive soon,” raising concerns about potential US intervention.
◆ Mandom (4917)
3070 yen (+262 yen)
Announced it received an acquisition proposal from US investment fund KKR. KKR reportedly aims to start a tender offer (TOB) at 3,100 yen per share by late January. Mandom is undergoing an MBO (management buyout), but following the accumulation of Mandom shares by Aya Nomura, the eldest daughter of Yoshiaki Murakami, and others, the TOB price was raised from the initial 1,960 yen to 2,520 yen, to which Ms. Nomura’s side agreed.
◆ Takeuchi Manufacturing (6432)
6670 yen (-570 yen)
Small construction machinery. Announced Q3 (March-November 2025) results for the fiscal year ending February 2026, with operating profit down 7.0% year-on-year to 31.4 billion yen. In the September-November period, orders slowed at its US sales subsidiary, and order backlog at the end of Q3 fell 49.5% to 41.5 billion yen. Concerns about future performance also smoldered, leading to widespread selling. Among other earnings announcement stocks, major seed company Sakata Seed also fell sharply.
PowerX Doubles After Opening Price, First IPO of the Year is TO Books
The first IPO (Initial Public Offering) of 2026 has already been announced. Let’s check it along with the results since the last issue (December 17, 2025).
The IPO results since December 18, 2025, are as shown in the table below. Nine companies went public by year-end, of which three—Mirrativ, Gimmick, and PowerX—had opening prices below their public offering prices. Mirrativ had a public offering/sale size of 7.2 billion yen, and PowerX had 11.8 billion yen, which are considered somewhat large for TSE Growth IPOs (= prone to profit-taking sales), while Gimmick was at a disadvantage due to three companies listing on the same day (= easy for buy orders to be dispersed). On the other hand, Startline, with a public offering/sale size of about 800 million yen, saw its opening price surge +94.8% compared to the public offering price. Amid the IPO rush, opening price performance varied, but it can generally be attributed to stock supply and demand (balance of selling and buying).
Throughout December, 15 companies went public, with the average opening price change rate relative to the public offering price being +29.5%. Four out of the 15 companies opened below their public offering price. For the full year 2025, 65 companies went public. This decreased from 86 in 2024, but there were many large IPOs like JX Metals (public offering/sale size 438.6 billion yen) and SBI Shinsei Bank (370.2 billion yen). The average opening price change rate relative to the public offering price was +39.2%, slightly up from +30.9% in 2024. Companies opening below their public offering price accounted for 15% of the total, or 10 companies (22%, or 19 companies, in 2024). A detailed analysis of 2025 IPO results will be done another time.
The expected first IPO of 2026 is TO Books, scheduled to list on February 13. The company handles light novels and comics, with representative works including “Ascendance of a Bookworm.” Hopes are high for a strong start to 2026 IPOs as well.
(Zai IPO Stock Analyst Daijun Kobayashi)