The Nikkei 225 Index climbed 1.6% to above 66,000 on Thursday as the market reopened after an extended holiday, with technology and artificial intelligence shares leading the advance as they caught up with gains in global peers. Tech and AI stocks worldwide have outperformed in recent sessions after Meta’s Muse personal AI agent reignited investor interest in the sector and bolstered demand for AI infrastructure plays.
In Japan, notable gainers included Kioxia Holdings (up 3.2%), Ibiden Co (up 5.9%), Advantest (up 1%), SoftBank Group (up 5.4%) and Tokyo Electron (up 0.8%).
Sentiment remained cautious, however, as Wall Street came under pressure on Wednesday: robust US economic data and a rebound in oil prices stoked inflation concerns and strengthened expectations of further Federal Reserve interest rate hikes, driving the dollar and US Treasury yields higher. Investors also continued to follow developments in US–China negotiations that could result in new trade agreements.
