Japan's Nikkei 225 rebounded on August 14, trading at around 68,540 by 1:50 p.m. local time, up 229 yen from the previous close. The advance followed a three-session rally through the prior day that had added more than 2,700 yen, but buying enthusiasm appeared restrained as investors locked in profits on rebounds and adopted a wait-and-see stance ahead of the weekend. SoftBank Group, Advantest and Kioxia Holdings were among the biggest positive contributors to the index, while Ibiden, Recruit Holdings and Tokyo Electron weighed most heavily. Sector performance was led by miscellaneous products, marine transportation, information and communications, fisheries and forestry, and mining, while securities and commodity futures, nonferrous metals, services, pharmaceuticals, and glass and ceramics products lagged. Buying remained dominant into the afternoon, but the market gradually lost steam as short-term overheating concerns surfaced after the recent run-up. South Korea's KOSPI offered some reassurance to Tokyo shares, while the dollar traded near 159.30 yen and the yen strengthened modestly in afternoon trading. Although a firmer yen often pressures export-related stocks, the effect on equities remained limited. On the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market, the most actively traded names by volume just after 2:00 p.m. were NTT, Fujikura, Kioxia, SoftBank Corp and Sanrio. By trading value, Kioxia, Advantest, Taiyo Yuden, Fujikura and Murata Manufacturing led the market, highlighting strong investor interest in semiconductor and electronic component shares.