Nikkei Index Records Biggest Rise in 21 Months

Japan’s Nikkei index posted its biggest gain in 21 months, following in the footsteps of global equities as market sentiment recovered, as it looked like Ukraine and Russia would resume diplomatic talks and as oil prices reversed some of their recent gains.

Nikkei rose by 3.94% to close at 25690.40 points, and the prices of 222 shares rose from the 250 listed on it. This rise came after the index lost 7% in the previous four sessions, to its lowest level since November 2020, which amounted to 24,681.74 points yesterday, Wednesday.

The shares of all sectors rose, and the basic materials sector achieved the largest gains, jumping 6.18%, followed by the real estate and consumer sectors, which are closely related to the economic cycle, by 4.72%, as well as the technology and automobile sectors.

The broader Topix index rose 4.04% after falling 6.5% in the previous four sessions.