The Nikkei 225 Index climbed 1.3% to above 65,800 on Wednesday, while the broader Topix Index added 0.3% to reach 3,950, with both benchmarks setting fresh record highs as they tracked a tech-led rally on Wall Street overnight. Sentiment was further buoyed by cautious optimism that the US and Iran could still strike a peace agreement despite renewed hostilities in the Middle East.
Japanese equities also drew support from a pullback in US Treasury yields, as markets pared back expectations for imminent interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. Technology shares led the advance, with notable gains in Kioxia Holdings (2.1%), Fujikura (2.4%), Advantest (5.3%), Tokyo Electron (3.8%) and Lasertec (2.5%). By contrast, financial stocks underperformed, weighed down by declines in Mitsubishi UFJ (-1.1%), Sumitomo Mitsui (-1.7%) and Mizuho Financial (-2.2%).
