SoftBank's Heavy Weight Forces Skeptical Stock Investors to Buy - Yahoo Finance

Bloomberg reports on how SoftBank Group Corp.'s remarkable stock performance is forcing even skeptical investors to buy shares due to its growing influence on Japan's equity benchmark.

Masayoshi Son's artificial intelligence investments have driven SoftBank shares up 146% since April, making it one of the top performers in Japan's Topix index. The company's weight in the benchmark has doubled to 2%, positioning it alongside major Japanese corporations like Toyota and Sony. Despite concerns about volatility and complex business operations, fund managers find themselves compelled to hold SoftBank shares to remain competitive in the market.

• SoftBank contributed nearly 10% of the Topix's total market capitalization increase, adding 15.9 trillion yen in value
• The company's stake in OpenAI is increasingly impacting its valuation as AI adoption becomes widespread
• SoftBank trades at the highest volatility among Japan's top 100 companies, moving 1.5 times more than the market index
• Recent investments include $30 billion in the Stargate AI initiative and $2 billion in Intel Corp.