Nikkei’s Rally Seen Vulnerable With Few Stocks Gaining

Japan’s blue-chip stock gauge jumped 2.2% to mark a fresh record today, but only a handful of names did the heavy lifting, a sign that the rally’s narrow breadth could leave it vulnerable to a potential correction.

Just 43 of the companies in the Nikkei 225 index rose on Wednesday, marking the first time the index has climbed more than 1.7% with fewer than 100 advancers, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Much of the gain was driven by Advantest Corp., which surged to its daily limit, after the maker of AI-chip testing devices lifted its profit outlook.