Japan's Nikkei Stock Average turned higher in afternoon trading on September 16, rising roughly 250 points to around 63,700 after briefly gaining more than 300 points following the open. Buying in stock index futures (contracts tracking market indexes) during the midday break, believed to have come from overseas speculative funds, appeared to lead gains in cash equities as major Asian markets strengthened. South Korea's KOSPI was up about 1%, while the Nikkei's decline of more than 1,700 points over the previous two sessions created conditions for bargain hunting. Advantest, Tokyo Electron and other semiconductor-related stocks rose, but SoftBank Group and Kioxia Holdings remained weak, limiting the prospect of a broad-based rally. Basket trading totaled approximately ¥56.4 billion ($363.2 million), down from ¥73.7 billion ($474.6 million) the previous day but indicating continued institutional activity. At 12:45 p.m., Prime Market trading value was approximately ¥3.7373 trillion ($24.1 billion), with volume of 931.51 million shares. Investors are watching whether short-covering (buying back borrowed shares) and renewed overseas demand can sustain the rebound, while semiconductor stocks, U.S. semiconductor policy and the global economic outlook remain key risks.