Tokyo – Saba:
Japan’s Nikkei index closed higher for the second consecutive session on Thursday, tracking gains in technology stocks on Wall Street and benefiting from renewed optimism surrounding Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s stimulus plan.
The Topix index rose 0.57 percent to close at 57,467.83 points. The broader Topix index also climbed 1.18 percent to 3,852.09 points, according to Reuters.
Technology-related stocks provided the biggest boost to the Nikkei. Shares of SoftBank Group, which invests in artificial intelligence startups, rose 2.6 percent, and shares of Tokyo Electron, a chip-making equipment manufacturer, gained 2.9 percent. Foreign investors poured 1.42 trillion yen ($9.16 billion) into Japanese stocks in the week ending February 14, the largest inflow since October 11, according to data released by the Ministry of Finance on Thursday. This helped propel the country’s stock indexes to record highs following Takaichi’s victory.
Shares of Japanese steelmaker JSW jumped 9.2 percent after a media report indicated that building next-generation nuclear reactors was under consideration as part of Japan’s planned second round of $550 billion investment in the United States.
