In the first half of September, the Nikkei Stock Average was impacted by U.S. economic indicators, which heightened uncertainty about the economic outlook. The yen appreciated due to expectations of a rate cut in the U.S., which was seen negatively. As a result, the Nikkei fell for seven consecutive days, dropping from 38,700 on the 2nd to 35,619 on the 11th. In the second half, while the FOMC decided on a 0.50% rate cut on the evening of the 18th, optimism about a soft landing for the U.S. economy grew, causing the yen to weaken. This led to the Nikkei rebounding to 37,155 on the 19th.Towards the end of the month, the Nikkei surged to 39,829 on the 27th, fueled by the anticipation that Sanae Takaichi, who supported monetary easing policies, was in a favorable position ahead of the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election on the 27th. However, in the runoff election, Shigeru Ishiba, who had expressed support for tightening taxation on financial income, was elected as the party leader. This resulted in the Nikkei dropping on the 30th, closing the month at 37,919. Amid these fluctuations, trust banks and business corporations were net buyers, while foreign investors and individuals were net sellers (as shown in Figure 1).