FX.co ★ Japanese Shares Extend Rally to Record Highs

The Nikkei 225 Index increased by 0.6%, surpassing 48,200 points, while the wider Topix Index rose by 0.5%, reaching 3,240 on Tuesday. Both indexes achieved new record highs following the weekend victory of fiscal dove and pro-stimulus lawmaker Sanae Takaichi in the leadership race for Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, positioning her as the country's imminent prime minister. Takaichi is anticipated to advocate for the Bank of Japan to sustain its ultra-loose monetary policy, resulting in a sharp decline in the yen. Moreover, Japanese stocks reflected gains from Wall Street's previous session, buoyed by the groundbreaking agreement between OpenAI and AMD, which bolstered optimism regarding global AI growth. Semiconductor and AI-focused stocks drove the market's ascent, with significant gains observed in companies such as Advantest (3%), SoftBank Group (2.6%), Disco Corp (3.5%), Lasertec (1%), and Tokyo Electron (1.3%).