Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers
The ranking of Japanese companies with the highest market capitalization has been changing rapidly over a short period of time. The top spot, which Toyota Motor Corp. relinquished in June for the first time in 22 and a half years, has changed hands five times in just over a month.
On the Tokyo stock market Monday, artificial intelligence and semiconductor-related stocks, which had driven a recent rally, underperformed, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. $(MUFG)$ took the top spot for the first time.
Toyota slumps
On June 1, SoftBank Group Corp., which invests in U.S. AI-related companies, overtook Toyota, marking the first change in the top spot in 22 and a half years. On June 12, major Japanese semiconductor maker Kioxia Holdings Corp. took the top spot.
After that, a trend of profit-taking spread among AI-related stocks, which had been surging. Kioxia's market capitalization, which stood at nearly 60 trillion yen in mid-June, has fallen by about 40% to just under 37 trillion yen. During this period, Toyota regained the top spot, but its stock price continues to underperform, weighed down not only by a slowdown in the global electric vehicle (EV) market but also by soaring crude oil prices and raw material costs due to the Middle East situation.
'Aiming for top 5'
MUFG's stock price closed at 3,541 yen on Monday, up 2.31% from Friday, the previous trading day, bringing its market capitalization to 42.023 trillion yen. Driven by expectations of expanded earnings, such as wider interest margins on loans, following the Bank of Japan's rate hike and rising long-term interest rates, the stock price has continued to climb gradually.
In recent years, to strengthen its earnings base, MUFG has positioned the expansion of its retail business in a "world with interest rates" and its overseas strategy, centered on Asia, as the pillars of its growth. The company has identified market capitalization as one of its key management indicators. MUFG President and Group CEO Junichi Hanzawa emphasized that the company aims to "outline a roadmap for being among the global top five" financial institutions.
On Monday's market, bank stocks stood out with gains, as seen with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. also hitting its new record high, while the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average fell.
Earnings reports coming
There is a strong view in the market that the upcoming series of corporate earnings announcements will influence price movements in AI and banking-related stocks. Attention is focused on the earnings announcement scheduled for Thursday of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer, as well as of major IT companies to follow.
"There is a strong view that interest rates will continue to rise, so it is difficult to imagine bank stocks experiencing a significant collapse," said Masahiro Ichikawa of Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Co.
On the other hand, Masayuki Doshida of Rakuten Securities Economic Research Institute pointed out, "If the earnings of AI-related companies fall short of market expectations, banks that are actively lending to the AI sector could also suffer significant damage, and price movements among bank stocks could diverge."
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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.
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July 14, 2026 21:15 ET (01:15 GMT)
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