TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average closed at its highest in more than 33 years on Wednesday, tracking an upbeat session on Wall Street, with Toyota Motor surging as investors scooped up index heavyweights amid a weaker yen.
The Nikkei index jumped 1.47% to end at 33,502.42, its highest close since March 1990, in a four-day winning streak. The broader Topix advanced 1.31% to 2,294.53.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq reached their highest closes in 14 months overnight, as data showing consumer prices rose modestly in May boosted bets that the Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates on Wednesday.
“When US stocks rise, global investors must buy Japanese stocks. The weaker yen also boosted investor sentiment,” said Shigetoshi Kamada, general manager at the research department of Tachibana Securities.
“And when Japanese shares are on the rise, they want to buy large caps. Looking at Wednesday’s market, it looks like they are buying heavyweights in a big package.”
Toyota Motor surged 6% after jumping 5% on Tuesday, as shareholders voted down an unprecedented resolution on the automaker’s climate lobbying and backed its board at an annual general meeting (AGM).
Honda Motor advanced 3.59%. An index tracking automakers rose 4.28% and was the top performer among the 33 industry sub-indexes on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Technology investor SoftBank Group advanced 4.75%.
Steel makers climbed 4.24%, with Kobe Steel up 5.63%. Chip-related shares fell, with Screen Holdings losing 2.55% and Advantest down 0.29%.
Tokyo Electron cut its early losses to end flat. Drug makers lost 0.98%, with Eisai shedding 4.07% and Daiichi Sankyo down 2.88%.
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