By Yang Jie

Shares of Japanese electronic-components maker Murata Manufacturing surged Thursday as investors again accumulated stocks tied to advanced computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure.

The Apple supplier's stock jumped more than 13% during the session before paring gains to finish 8.1% higher at 11,745 yen. That added more steam to the Nikkei's rally, with the index closing above the 70000 threshold for the first time.

Kyoto-based Murata has been on a tear lately thanks to the multilayer ceramic capacitors it produces, which are used in AI servers and other data-center products, making the company a clear beneficiary of AI demand.

As AI trades become saturated, investors' attention is turning from advanced chips to passive components like capacitors that manage the electrical currents needed to keep AI circuits running stably.

High-performance AI demands immense power stability, making multilayer ceramic capacitors a critical hardware component.

Reflecting that, shares of Murata--a top supplier of MLCCs-- have risen 270% in the year to date.

An immediate catalyst adding to the momentum came from a Wall Street Journal interview with Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook in which he revealed plans to raise product prices to offset the surging costs of memory and storage chips.

The acknowledgment that price increases may be unavoidable gives investors reason to think that premium-device makers retain the pricing power to pass higher input costs on to consumers, helping preserve margins across the hardware value chain.

Earlier this week, analysts at Morgan Stanley MUFG named Murata as their top pick in the electronic components sector, lifting the stock's price target from 5,100 yen to 12,500 yen. The broker expects demand for high-capacity components used in AI servers and data centers to roughly double each year for the next three years.

SMBC Nikko Securities analysts echoed the bullish view, more than tripling their price target to 13,400 yen from 4,000 yen.

Write to Yang Jie at jie.yang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 18, 2026 05:04 ET (09:04 GMT)

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