The Nikkei 225 Index climbed 0.8% on Thursday to trade above 63,700, marking a new all-time high as solid corporate earnings and optimistic forward guidance bolstered investor sentiment. Persistent demand for artificial intelligence–related names also continued to underpin the rally.
Japanese shares further benefited from a tech-driven advance on Wall Street overnight, even as quickening US inflation stoked worries that the Federal Reserve may still deliver an additional interest-rate hike. At the same time, markets remained focused on the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, where trade relations were expected to top the agenda.
On the corporate front, notable gainers included Kioxia Holdings (up 1.7%), Furukawa Electric (1.5%), Advantest (2.8%), Fanuc (10.4%) and Resonac Holdings (15.6%). In contrast, mining company Mitsui Kinzoku dropped 11.8% after issuing a weaker profit forecast for FY2027, despite projecting higher sales.
