Japanese Shares Rise 0.5% as Wall Street Gains
The Nikkei 225 index rose 0.5% to around 39,460 while the broader Topix index gained 0.2% to 2,745 on Thursday, extending this week’s rally and tracking gains on Wall Street overnight where the three major U.S. indexes closed at fresh record highs.
The advances were driven by strong corporate earnings and optimism around the artificial intelligence boom, with major U.S. tech companies highlighting the significant boost they are receiving from the sector.
In Japan, investors continued to focus on the outlook for monetary policy, with market sentiment divided on the timing of the Bank of Japan’s next interest rate hike.
Traders now await Japan’s payrolls figures due Friday for further guidance on the interest rate outlook. Notable performers included major index players such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (+3.6%), Fujikura (+4.3%), IHI Corp (+4.4%), Advantest (+3.1%) and SoftBank Group (+1.2%).
Source: Trading Economics
