Nikkei Tops 59,000 for First Time

Tokyo, Feb. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average exceeded 59,000 for the first time ever to rewrite its all-time intraday high Thursday morning, boosted by higher U.S. equities overnight. The index of 225 selected issues listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime section rose to as high as 59,332.43 in early trading, up 749.31 points, or 1.28 pct, from Wednesday, when it hit the previous intraday high of 58,875.17. The Nikkei lost some of its steam later and ended the morning session at 58,856.98, up 273.86 points, or 0.46 pct. The broader TOPIX index on the TSE also reached a record intraday high, at 3,903.35, before finishing the morning session at 3,885.69, up 42.53 points, or 1.11 pct. Key U.S. stock gauges went up Wednesday, thanks to buybacks of software-related names. Buying grew also reflecting investor hopes for a rosy earnings report from U.S. chip giant Nvidia. On the Tokyo market Thursday, purchases spread across industries from the opening bell. Financial stocks, including banks that had recently declined, rose significantly. Automakers were also buoyant. However, some artificial intelligence-related stocks, such as chipmaking equipment makers, met with selling, capping the Nikkei’s topside. Nvidia’s November-January earnings, released after the end of Wednesday’s U.S. stock trading, turned out to be stronger than expected. But an official of a major securities company said investors thought that favorable factors have run out END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]