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Japanese Stocks Rise As Chipmakers Bet Big on US AI Spending Plan; Oil Climbs

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Japanese stocks closed marginally higher on chipmaker optimism over the US technology giant's planned spending to further artificial intelligence infrastructure.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 closed up 307.00 points, or 0.46%, at 66,422.60 .

Oil prices climbed on escalating tensions between the US and Iran and renewed attacks on oil tankers in the Red Sea by Iran-backed Houthis, fueling supply concerns and deepening the Middle East crisis.

On the corporate side, Toyota Tsusho (TYO:8015) plans to invest 1.2 trillion yen through March 2028 to expand its metal scrap recycling operations, focusing on extracting valuable materials from recycling rather than operating mines, according to media reports.

Also, NEC (TYO:6701) shares have fallen about 20% over time on threats from artificial intelligence to traditional tech and software companies.

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