TOKYO (Oct 3): Japan’s Nikkei share average rallied to an all-time closing high on Friday as euphoria around artificial intelligence gripped the market, sending chip stocks surging.
The tech-heavy Nikkei ended the day up 1.9% at 45,769.5, topping the record set on Thursday of last week by about 15 points.
The broader Topix advanced 1.4%.
The gains came despite the event risk on the weekend, with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party set to elect a new leader on Saturday, who would ostensibly take over as prime minister.
Frontrunner Shinjiro Koizumi is seen as a continuity candidate, while rival Sanae Takaichi is viewed as a fiscal and monetary dove.
“If Takaichi wins, Monday could see stocks higher, bond yields higher, and a weaker yen,” said Nomura strategist Maki Sawada. “But whoever wins, there is likely to be some degree of fiscal loosening.”
Hitachi vaulted 10.3% to be the Nikkei’s best-performing stock on Friday, buoyed by a local media report about a partnership with ChatGPT maker OpenAI, which is now worth US$500 billion.
The three biggest gainers in index-point terms were chip-testing equipment maker and Nvidia supplier Advantest, AI-focused investor and OpenAI backer SoftBank Group, and chip-making tool manufacturer Tokyo Electron, up 4.3%, 3.6% and 2.3%, respectively.
Overnight, US tech shares had also pushed Wall Street to new record highs.
Of the Nikkei’s 225 components, 181 rose, 43 fell and one traded flat.
Japanese shares got additional support from a weaker yen, which raises the value of overseas revenues at Japan’s many heavyweight exporters. The yen declined for a second day versus the US dollar on Friday, following a four-session, 1.9% surge.
Uploaded by Lam Seng Fatt
AloJapan.com