Nikkei soars to within sight of all-time peak, closes at 34-year high

Rakuten

16/02/2024 06:50

(Updated with closing levels)
    By Brigid Riley
       TOKYO, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Japan's benchmark Nikkei
rallied to 34-year highs on Friday and was on the cusp of
eclipsing the all-time peak reached during the hey days of the
nation's bubble economy in the 1980s.
    The index blew past the post-economic bubble era record of
38,188.74, putting it on course to surpass the life-time peak of
38,957.44 reached in December 1989.
    The Nikkei share average  .N225  finished the day up 0.86%
at 38,487.24. So far, the index is up 14.0% for the year.
    "The speed (at which the Nikkei is rising) is faster than I
had expected, but I think it's justified" given fundamental
improvements such as corporate governance reform, said Kenji
Abe, an analyst at Daiwa Securities.
    Of the index's 225 constituents, 190 advanced and just 34
declined.
    The broader Topix  .TOPX  closed up 1.27% at 2624.73. 
    Japan's stock market was buoyed by a strong day on Wall
Street overnight, with the Nikkei index's heavyweights climbing.
    Toyota Motor  7203.T  gained 0.95%, Fast Retailing  9983.T 
was up 1.08% and Recruit Holdings  6098.T  rallied 4.0%. 
    Semiconductor equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron, which
had been in negative territory for a while, also picked up
during the day, eking out a modest 0.4% gain. 
    Entertainment company Bandai Namco Holdings Inc  7832.T  was
the best performer, up 8.05% after taking a tumble the previous
day.
    In sectors, the oil and coal products Topix subindex
 .IPETE.T  rallied 3.96% to come out on top after a brief jump
in oil prices overnight.
    On the broader economic front, investors were assessing
Thursday's gross domestic production report showing Japan
unexpectedly slipped into a recession at the end of last year,
and how that will affect the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) monetary
policy outlook.
    BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda told Japan's parliament on Friday
that the central bank will examine whether to maintain its
various monetary easing measures, including negative interest
rates, when its 2% inflation target comes into sight. 

 (Reporting by Brigid Riley
Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
 ((brigid.riley@thomsonreuters.com;))