Tokyo shares close at record high

TOKYO: Tokyo shares closed at all-time highs on Thursday, tracking records on Wall Street where bullish global investors drove US tech firms higher.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.82 percent, or 332.89 points, to 40,913.65, topping the previous record seen on March 22. And the broader Topix index added 0.92 percent, or 26.29 points, to 2,898.47, its highest level since 1989.

Thursday’s rally was in line with an advance across Asia, where investors were cheered by fresh data indicating the US labour market was softening, giving the Federal Reserve room to begin cutting interest rates.

The Nikkei marked five straight winning sessions — lifted by the continued strength of US tech shares on the back of falling US bond yields, as well as the yen’s weakness and rising commodity prices. “The risk-on mood continued,” IwaiCosmo Securities said.

Tokyo and other major global shares have steadily gained since last year, with the Nikkei surpassing the 40,000 mark for the first time in March.

That came a month after the Nikkei broke the record set in 1989 just before an asset bubble in Japan catastrophically burst.