Nikkei 225 Hits Record Closing High

Tokyo, Jan. 6 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average Tuesday hit a record closing high for the first time in about two months, boosted by broad-based buying following a rise in U.S. stocks Monday. The index of 225 major issues listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s top-tier Prime section ended at 52,518.08, up 685.28 points, or 1.32 pct, from Monday, exceeding the previous high scored Oct. 31, 2025. The broader TOPIX index also hit a record closing high of 3,538.44, up 60.92 points, or 1.75 pct. In the U.S. stock market Monday, energy names were hunted after U.S. President Donald Trump said that major oil companies will invest billions of dollars in Venezuela. The Dow Jones industrial average hit a record closing high. In Tokyo on Tuesday, more than 80 pct of the Prime section stocks advanced, particularly issues sensitive to economic developments, such as the finance and oil-related sectors. Other popular stocks were those linked to artificial intelligence technology. As the Tokyo market kept rising since this year’s trading began on Monday, a bank-linked brokerage house official said, “It has been a good start.” “Fresh investment funds from overseas institutional investors are flowing in” after the turn of the year, an official of a major securities house said. Meanwhile, in Tokyo interdealer bond trading, the key 10-year Japanese government bond yield, a benchmark long-term interest rate, climbed to 2.130 pct, the highest level since February 1999. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]