In the stock market on the 25th week, the “semiconductor shortage” was once again attracting attention as companies announced their financial results one after another.

I wondered if the crisis of the moment had settled down a little, but again, anxiety ran around the market.

The "SOX Index" is used as a reference for quickly detecting the movements of semiconductor-related companies among market participants.

I also knew it for the first time.

(Reporter, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Kei Nakazawa)

Tokyo stock market on the 25th (Monday) of the week.

As the market manager on that day, I was alert in a sense that the Nikkei Stock Average would rise as the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the New York market hit a new high last weekend.



However, the price dropped immediately after the start of the transaction, and temporarily dropped by more than 300 yen.



When I talked to market participants, he said, "The'Socks Index'may have an effect."

I wondered if it was socks socks for a moment, but instead it was the "SOX Index".



The Philadelphia Stock Exchange, which is now under the umbrella of Nasdaq in the United States, is a stock index that began to be calculated in 1993, and is also called the "Philadelphia Semiconductor Index."

It is made up of 30 companies that manufacture, distribute, and sell semiconductors, such as Intel, NVIDIA, and TSMC in Taiwan.

On Friday, 22nd, the SOX index was declining in the United States.



One of the factors was the financial results of semiconductor giant Intel announced after the closing of the 21st the day before.

Current sales and outlook for sales towards the end of the year fell short of market expectations.

The PC manufacturer that delivers the CPU, which is the main product, explains that the cause is that other semiconductors and components cannot be procured and the finished product cannot be assembled.



On the 22nd, Intel's stock price fell by about 12%, and the SOX index also fell by up to 1.7%.

And it spread to the Tokyo market on the 25th of the week.



Please tell me that unlike the index that collects the stock prices of companies in various industries, the index that collects only semiconductor-related companies, market participants are paying close attention to grasp the concerns and negative factors related to semiconductors as soon as possible. I did.

In the week of the 25th, the financial results of semiconductor-related companies were announced one after another in the Tokyo market, but as the SOX index showed, the stock price also fell.



Canon on the 26th.

Although the three-month financial results up to September showed higher sales and profits, we have revised downward the operating profit for the year to December.

This is due to an increase in procurement costs due to a shortage of semiconductors.

The next day's stock price fell about 6%.



On the 27th, FANUC, a major industrial robot company, decided to revise its one-year earnings forecast downward.

It is said that the shortage of semiconductors will continue, affecting the production of robots and other products.

The next day, the stock price fell by more than 8%.

It was the biggest factor in the decline in the Nikkei Stock Average on that day.

The shortage of semiconductors caused by the disruption of the supply chain due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection and the rapid expansion of demand due to the resumption of economic activities.



Some people in the market are pessimistic that the shortage will continue for the first half of next year.



Since semiconductors are the "industrial brain" embedded in many products such as home appliances, smartphones, personal computers, and automobiles to medical devices, we just hope that they will be supplied without clogging.



For the time being, I can't take my eyes off the "SOX Index".

Scheduled to pay attention

The results of the House of Representatives election are likely to attract the attention of the market, including foreign investors.



Also, whether the Fed will decide to reduce quantitative easing at this FOMC will be a major focus.

Since there is a press conference by Chair Powell, comments on inflation concerns are likely to be a factor in moving the market.



In addition, OPEC Plus ministerial level meetings.

This will also be the focus on whether oil-producing countries will take additional production increases as crude oil prices rise.