The benchmark Nikkei market closed at a three-decade high on Friday after U.S. lawmakers approved raising the debt ceiling and central bankers signaled they would not tighten monetary policy.
SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) climbed 4.3% on expectations its chip unit will benefit from artificial intelligence spending. T&D Holdings, Inc. (8795.T) rose 4.28% as U.S. default worries receded.
The Nikkei index (.N225) rose 1.21% to 31,384.93, its best closing since July 1990. .TOPX gained 1.55% to 2,182.70.
After strong labor market data, U.S. equity indices closed at their highest levels since August 2022.
The Senate voted for bipartisan legislation endorsed by President Joe Biden to raise the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, preventing a first-ever default.
Governor Kazuo Ueda told lawmakers in Japan that the central bank has no timeline for reaching its 2% inflation target.
For the ninth straight week, the Nikkei rose 2%. On Friday, 202 of its stocks climbed, and 16 declined.
“Despite the rise in the Nikkei, there’s been a trend where decliners on the Prime Market outnumbered gainers,” said Nomura Securities strategist Maki Sawada.
“However, in the Nikkei’s climb over the past few days, the number of stocks gaining price has been increasing, so that suggests the index is being bought more broadly,” she noted.
Papermakers and transport equipment businesses led the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s 33 industry categories with gains of 2.6%.ISHIP.T was flat.
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