TOKYO: Tokyo stocks closed higher on Friday with the key Nikkei index ending at a new 34-year high, partly supported by Wall Street rallies.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.9 percent, or 329.30 points, to 38,487.24 while the broader Topix index ended up 1.3 percent, or 32.88 points, at 2,624.73.
Tokyo shares were boosted by Wall Street gains and sound earnings reports by US chip-equipment maker Applied Materials, analysts said.
“In the Japanese market, chip-linked shares soared” before slowing down later in the day, IwaiCosmo Securities said.
The dollar fetched 150.25 yen in Asian trade, against 150.24 yen in New York.
At a parliament session on Friday, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said “its monetary easing environment will likely continue for a while” even if the bank partially lifts its ultra-loose measures such as a negative interest rate, Daiwa Securities said.
That comment “provided a sense of relief to the market”, the brokerage added.
Even as the Nikkei index approaches its highest-ever closing value of 38,915.87, a record set in December 1989, “there is no overheating” felt in the market, SBI Securities senior strategist Ichiro Asai told AFP.
Other positive factors include the “relatively low price of Japanese shares” compared to those in overseas markets, partly helped by the cheaper yen, he said.
There are mixed views among market-watchers about whether the Nikkei will break its record soon, Asai added.
“One group think these rapid rises will trigger some kind of adjustment, but the other thinks share prices can surpass the record without hitting any psychological barriers.”
Among major shares in Tokyo, Olympus jumped 5.4 percent to 2,165 yen, oil refiner Idemitsu Kosan gained 5.3 percent to 927 yen, and trading house Mitsui & Co added 3.6 percent to 6,267 yen.
Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest slipped 0.4 percent to 7,020 yen after soaring in early trade, while chip-making equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron ended up 0.4 percent at 35,350 yen.
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