Japanese defense shares are expected to carry their rally into 2026, as heightened geopolitical tensions underscore the case for higher spending on armaments. A series of recent events have boosted prices of military-linked stocks, including the US raid in Venezuela and close encounters between Chinese and Japanese fighter aircraft following comments on Taiwan by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. “Th...
Japanese defense shares are expected to carry their rally into 2026, as heightened geopolitical tensions underscore the case for higher spending on armaments. A series of recent events have boosted prices of military-linked stocks, including the US raid in Venezuela and close encounters between Chinese and Japanese fighter aircraft following comments on Taiwan by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. “There is no better time than the present for Japan to place national security at the forefront,” said Gerald Gan , chief investment officer at Singapore-based Reed Capital Partners. The Venezuela incident will “strengthen the strategic rationale for more defense spending in Japan, particularly given heightened regional tensions as well,” providing “incremental tailwinds for Japanese defense names.” The US capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro sparked a surge in defense industry stocks in the US, Europe and South Korea. In Japan, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and IHI Corp. shares jumped more than 8% on Monday in reaction, marking their biggest gains in nearly three months. Further gains in defense stocks may support the broader Japanese market, which kicked off the year with the strongest start since 1990. Mitsubishi Heavy and NEC Corp. were among the top contributors to Topix index’s 22% gains last year, helping it outperform S&P 500 gauge. Against the backdrop of geopolitical challenges, the Takaichi administration seeks to lift the nation’s defense spending to a record ¥9.04 trillion ($57.9 billion) next fiscal year, according to a proposal released in late December. “There is a growing view that defense spending is likely to increase steadily as planned, which would in turn be positive for related stocks,” said Tomo Kinoshita a global market strategist at Invesco Asset Management Japan. Japan’s budget proposal comes at at a time when countries around the globe are ramping up efforts to strengthen national security. On Wednesday New York time, President Donald Trum...
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) stock has surged to start the year. The tech company 's stock is up 15.5% year-to-date as of this writing -- and that's on top of a gain of more than 80% last year. The strong momentum has likely caught the attention of many investors. Can the chipmaker's stock continue to outperform? Much of the stock's gain so far in 2025 has been fueled by hype around the company's new Inte...
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) stock has surged to start the year. The tech company 's stock is up 15.5% year-to-date as of this writing -- and that's on top of a gain of more than 80% last year. The strong momentum has likely caught the attention of many investors. Can the chipmaker's stock continue to outperform? Much of the stock's gain so far in 2025 has been fueled by hype around the company's new Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors -- the company's first compute platform built on its Intel 18A semiconductor foundry in the U.S. With its Core Ultra Series 3 processors, being the first AI (artificial intelligence) personal computing platform built on the company's new U.S.-based Intel 18A process technology, some investors may be betting that this could be a major accelerant for Intel's turnaround effort as it repositions its business to benefit from AI. After all, not only could the Ultra Series 3 processors be a game changer, but perhaps Intel's 18A manufacturing process can attract other chip customers looking for U.S.-based manufacturing. But are investors getting ahead of themselves? Continue reading