TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average rose to an all-time high on Friday, as tech-related stocks tracked record-high closings among their US peers and insurance companies gained on news that several of them will sell their cross-shareholdings.
The Nikkei was up 1.83% at 39,883.86 by the midday break, blowing past the record intraday peak of 39,426.29 set earlier this week.
The index continues to climb to record peaks after last month breaching the life-time high set during the December 1989 asset bubble.
It now stands within touching distance of the 40,000-point level.
The broader Topix was up 1.14% at 2706.18.
Traders’ sentiment was upbeat after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at record highs overnight, supported by technology stocks linked to AI, while US inflation data and comments from Federal Reserve officials fuelled bets of an interest rate cut in June.
Tokyo shares extend record gains
The Nikkei’s tech-related shares, which has greatly contributed to the index’s 17% surge this year, gave strong performances in the morning session.
Index heavyweight Tokyo Electron Ltd gained 4.64% and chip-testing equipment maker Advantest, which counts US artificial intelligence firm Nvidia among its customers, added 2.63%.
AI-focused startup investor SoftBank Group was up 2.05%.
At the same time, the insurance sector made gains after a number of non-life insurance companies announced the previous day that they will sell cross-shareholdings over the next few years.
“That’s positive for the Japanese financial sector,” as it allows the companies to increase shareholder returns, Kenji Abe, an analyst at Daiwa Securities, said.
The news comes amid expectations that companies will continue to boost returns through such unwindings and other measures, spurred by a reform request from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
This has also been a key driver of the Nikkei’s recent rise.
Among the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s 33 industry sectors, the insurance sector led the gainers, up 2.51%, followed by miners, which rose 2.27%.
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