Japan Dark Report: August 2026
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Japan Dark Report is a tool to help the buy side understand and navigate the Japan dark market structure on a per stock basis. The full report highlights dark market data points including dark % of turnover and trends, dark trade sizes, and statistical highlights, amongst others.
Japan's average daily notional traded fell -11.5% versus its trailing three-month average in August. The pullback in activity is consistent with typical late-summer seasonality, with participation thinning across the month. Despite softer volume backdrop, the TOPIX gained +5.0% while the Nikkei 225 lagged at +3.1%, weighed down by its export-heavy composition against a backdrop of yen appreciation driven by record government intervention.
TOPIX 500 dark activity declined by -9%, outpacing the weakness in lit market and lowering dark participation to 14.2% of total market turnover for the month. It can possibly be driven by macro uncertainty suppressing institution conviction - a record ¥15.4 trillion yen intervention, escalating BOJ rate hike expectations, and choppy foreign investor flows - left investors hesitant to build large directional positions. The decline in dark activity was broad-based across all sectors..
TOPIX 500’s top-decile dark activity names averaged 23.8% of market turnover, slightly lower than the previous month. A few notable names with declining dark activity:
Taiyo Yuden (6976.T): 2.8% in dark, extending a four-month downward trend and reaching its lowest level in the past 12 months. This was driven by the elevated lit volumes and stock price rally since earning release in late May, broker upgrades and continued AI theme momentum. Situational Awareness went through a large stake build (as high as 16.6% stake) followed by a rapid unwind (4.4% stake) during this period.
Jeol (6951.T): 10.3% in dark, down -38% MoM and marking a 3rd consecutive monthly decline. The weakness coincided with two successive earnings disappointments. Following its August earnings release, the stock fell 16%, the largest one-day decline during the May-August period, after reaching a peak the day before the announcement. Jefferies flagged segment losses and unchanged full-year guidance as key negatives.
Ube (4208.T): 9.5% in dark, retreating from the elevated level seen in the previous month. July activity was likely supported by the announcements that Mitsubishi UBE Cement (MUCC), the 50/50 cement joint venture between UBE Corp and Mitsubishi Materials, had formally applied for a Tokyo Stock Exchange listing. Investor interest may be also boosted by UBE's strong Q1 results, with operating income up +88% YoY and more than double the consensus forecast.
NH Foods (2282.T): 10.5% in dark, sustaining a gradual downtrend and reaching its lowest level in the past 12 months. The decline may largely driven by heavy lit trading following a disappointing Q1 FY2027 earnings release, which missed consensus by -14.6%. On 4 Aug, the stock dropped -7.3% on 2.2 million shares traded, marking both its largest one-day price decline and highest trading volume of the year.
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