TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average rose to a 34-year peak on Tuesday, buoyed by chip shares as the index tracked Wall Street’s climb to a fresh record high.
The gains come even as investors cautiously await the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy decision later in the trading day.
Market players expect no change to stimulus, but are keen for any clues on the timing of an exit from negative interest rates.
The decision is due any time around 0130-0500 GMT and Governor Kazuo Ueda holds a news conference at around 0630 GMT. Shortly after the open, the Nikkei rose to as high as 36,877.41 for the first time since February 1990, before trimming gains to be up 0.7% at 36,803.41 as of 0125 GMT.
Several semiconductor-sector stocks outperformed, including Lasertec, which gained 3.25%, and Screen Holdings , which added 2.27%. Heavyweights Tokyo Electron and Advantest rose 0.3% and 0.43%, respectively.
The broader Topix index advanced 0.5%, and also marked a fresh multi-decade high earlier in the session.
A Topix index of growth shares jumped 0.84% to comfortably outpace a 0.14% gain in value shares.
Overnight, the US S&P 500 closed at a record high for a second consecutive session, with tech stocks the standout winners.
“In the absence of any clear drivers, stocks seemed to like the retreat in bond yields,” said Kazuo Kamitani, an equity strategist at Nomura Securities in Tokyo.
Wall Street record propels Japan’s Nikkei to fresh 34-year peak
The 10-year US Treasury yield dipped to a low of 4.075% on Monday, from a high of 4.198% at the end of last week.
If yields remain subdued and US stocks stay firm, and if the yen is stable at current levels of around 148 per dollar, “there would be nothing at all strange if the Nikkei hit 37,000,” Kamitani said.
However, he and other analysts said the outcome of the BOJ meeting needs to be known before traders can move proactively.
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