The Nikkei 225 Index has rebounded in the past few weeks as optimism on trade prevailed. After bottoming at ¥30,770 in April, it has surged by over 21%, entering a technical bull market. It is now hovering at its highest level since March 27, making it one of the top-performing indices.
Japan stocks will be in the spotlight next week as some of the top companies publish their financial results. Historically, the index has had a mixed performance when these firms publish their results. This article highlights some of the top Nikkei Index companies to watch.
Japan earnings season accelerates
The main catalyst for the Nikkei 225 Index next week will be earnings by top companies in the index.
Some of the top companies that will release their numbers on Monday will be Suzuki Motor, Asahi Group, Shiseido, Kobe Steel, Mazda Motor, and Kansai Paint, Suzuki and Mazda will provide more insights about the impact of tariffs on the industry.
The top companies to watch on Tuesday will be Softbank, Honda Motor, Resona Holdings, Nissan, and Olympus. On Wednesday, companies like Sony, Sumitomo Mitsui, Nippon Paint, Kyocera, and Isuzu Motors will publish.
The main Nikkei 225 Index companies that will release their results on Thursday and Friday are Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho Financial, Japan Post. Bridgestone and Yokohama.
Softbank’s stocks will be notable because it is one of the biggest companies in the Nikkei 225 Index. The management will likely be put to the task for investing $40 billion in a single company, OpenAI.
Automakers like Honda, Nissan, and Isuzu will be in the spotlight because of Donald Trump’s tariffs and the impact on their businesses.
US and Japan trade talks
The other catalyst for the Nikkei 225 Index will be any breakthrough in talks between Japan and the United States. Japan wants the US to remove the so-called retaliatory tariffs, which Trump hopes will help to lower the trade deficit.
Recently released data showed that Japan’s trade surplus to the US surged to over $65 billion for 2025, angering Trump, who believes that deficits are bad for the United States.
A few points have prevented the US from reaching a trade deal with Japan. For example, Japan has resisted US demand for access to its agricultural sector, especially rice. Japan is uncomfortable removing tariffs on imported rice from the US.
Further, Japan is uncomfortable making a substantial commitment to invest in a long-delayed $44 billion LNG project in Alaska. Trump hopes that such an investment would help Japan narrow its trade deficit.
A trade deal would be a good thing for the Nikkei 225 Index as many companies do a lot of business in the US.
The Nikkei 225 Index will also react to some Japanese economic numbers. For example, the statistics agency will publish the latest GDP data on Wednesday, showing whether the economy grew or narrowed in the first quarter.
The other top data will be Japan’s industrial production and the producer price index (PPI) report.
Nikkei 225 Index analysis
Nikkei 225 Index | Chart by TradingView
The daily chart shows that the Nikkei 225 Index bottomed at ¥30,811 in April after Trump unveiled his tariffs against other countries, including Japan. It has jumped above the key resistance level at ¥35,970, its lowest level on March 11.
The index has moved above the 50-day and 100-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMA), while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) have all pointed upwards. Therefore, the index will likely continue rising as bulls target the key resistance level at ¥40,000, which is about 7.30% above the current level.
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