TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average closed near a 29-1/2-year high on Thursday as technology shares tracked their US peers higher, although gains were checked by profit-booking following a rally fuelled by optimism over COVID-19 vaccine-related developments.

The benchmark Nikkei settled 0.68% higher at 25,520.88, after hitting its highest level since June 5, 1991 earlier in the session.

Stocks briefly fell into negative territory in afternoon trade, as some investors turned cautious about the rally and booked profits.

Japan’s tech-related shares such as heavyweight SoftBank Group benefited from gains in their US counterparts. SoftBank climbed around 1.5%.

Among the top 30 core Topix names, Nintendo jumped 4.3% to snap four consecutive sessions of losses.

The broader Topix slipped 0.16% to 1,726.23 and snapped seven consecutive sessions of gains. Only eight of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo exchange traded higher.

Sectors such as real estate, airlines and financials, which surged on vaccine hopes, fell between 1.23% and 3.36%.

Elsewhere, Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings fell about 5% after it reported a half-year net loss of 36.79 billion yen ($349.48 million).

Some of its department store peers followed suit. Takashimaya dropped 4.84%, while J.Front Retailing lost 4.68%.

“Everybody cheered the vaccine headlines, but they have begun to realise that there are many challenges, such as logistics and vaccine performance,” said Daisuke Uchiyama, a senior strategist at Okasan Securities.—Reuters