Why Is SMR Stock Gaining Over 5% In Overnight Trading?

According to a report from The Chosun, Japan plans to invest up to $25 billion in NuScale Power.

• The reported investment is part of a much larger nuclear initiative between the U.S. and Japan.
• According to the report, Tokyo plans to invest about $65 billion in next-generation small modular reactor projects in the U.S.
• Last month, NuScale Power said it was in talks with the South Korean government about potential investments.

NuScale Power Corp. (SMR) shares popped more than 5% in the overnight trading on Sunday on reports that the Japanese government plans to invest in the company’s small modular reactors.

According to a report by The Chosun, a South Korean newspaper, Japan plans to invest up to $25 billion in NuScale Power as part of a broader U.S. investment package agreed upon during trade talks with the Trump administration.

Japan's Nuclear Investment Push

The reported NuScale investment is part of a much larger nuclear initiative between the U.S. and Japan. According to the report, Tokyo plans to allocate more than 10% of its $550 billion U.S. investment package, or over $65 billion, to next-generation small modular reactor projects.

Apart from the investment in NuScale, the plans reportedly include up to $40 billion in investment for small modular reactor projects jointly developed by GE Vernova Inc. (GEV) and Hitachi.

The U.S. is seeking Japanese funding to support a broad expansion of its nuclear power sector, as per the report. Initial projects are being considered in Tennessee, with U.S. officials already beginning the licensing process for SMR development.

Last month, NuScale Power announced that it is also in discussions with the South Korean government about potential investments in the company as part of the Asian country’s pledge ​to invest $350 billion in ​U.S. projects.

Trump's Nuclear Deregulation

Japan's planned investments come as the Trump administration pushes to accelerate the expansion of nuclear energy in the United States. Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to overhaul the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and accelerate the deployment of advanced nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors and microreactors.

The order seeks to streamline licensing procedures, reduce regulatory hurdles, and impose fixed deadlines on approval decisions to fast-track new projects. The administration has set a goal of quadrupling U.S. nuclear generation capacity to 400 gigawatts by 2050 from roughly 100 GW today.

SMR Stock: Retail Stance

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around SMR improved from ‘bearish’ to ‘neutral’ territory over 24 hours amid ‘high’ message volumes.

One bullish user said, “$25B from Japan… only the beginning as more countries adopt.”

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Another user expressed surprise that the company’s shares were not hitting all-time highs. “So Korea and now Japan thinking about investing in nuscale…. How we not back to ATH is baffling,” they said.

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SMR stock is down nearly 40% so far this year. Meanwhile, the VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF (NLR) is down about 8% in the same time, while the Global X Uranium ETF (URA) is down about 1%.

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