Japan's Nikkei share average surged on Friday, capping its steepest weekly advance in more than a year, as optimism over corporate earnings and technology investment outweighed concerns about a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index rose 1.84% to close at 56,924.11, rising 7.1% in the past five sessions in its best week since August 2024. Gains were concentrated around major companies, with the broader Topix slipping 0.04% to 3,739.85.
The Nikkei and other global indexes rose sharply on Wednesday, following the announcement of a ceasefire after nearly six weeks of war between Israel and the U.S. and Iran that has nearly completely halted oil shipments from the region. All eyes are now on talks in Pakistan this weekend, as representatives from the United States and Iran meet to solidify the deal to end hostilities.
With the earnings season now underway, retailing heavyweight Fast Retailing
9983
took the spotlight with blockbuster earnings after the bell on Thursday. Shares in the Uniqlo parent jumped 12% to an all-time high on Friday.
"Selective buying of individual stocks following earnings announcements appears to be contributing to the upward momentum in Japanese stocks," said Maki Sawada, an equities strategist at Nomura Securities.
"With caution surrounding future developments (in the Middle East), and considering the recent sharp rise in shares, I believe we may see some resistance at higher levels become more noticeable today."
Shares on Wall Street climbed overnight, with the Philadelphia SE semiconductor index advancing for a seventh straight session to hit an all-time high. That lent a tailwind to artificial intelligence-related companies in Tokyo.
There were 101 advancers on the Nikkei gauge against 121 decliners. Aside from Fast Retailing, the largest gainers on the Nikkei were tech-industry supplier Fujikura, up 12%, and chipmaker Kioxia Holdings, which jumped 8.8%.
The largest losers were BayCurrent, down 5.8%, followed by SHIFT, 5.6% lower, and online retailer Mercari, which slid 4.9%.

Sumber : Reuters