Nikkei Closed at a 29-Year High as Poll Hopes Continued to Rise

The Japanese Nikkei Index rose to close at a new high in 29 years, as investors still hoped for a rapid global recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, supported by developments related to the vaccine.

The benchmark Nikkei Index closed 1.78% higher at 25,349.6 points, its highest close since June 1991.

The index also extended gains for a seventh consecutive session, the longest streak of gains since October 2019.

And the broader Topix index won 1.66% to record 1,723.65 points, its highest level since the seventh of February. All but three of the sub-indices for the 33 sectors in the Tokyo Stock Exchange were higher.

In addition to the optimism that followed Pfizer’s announcement on Monday that the results of its initial tests showed that the experimental vaccine for Covid-19 is more than 90% effective, analysts said that Japanese stocks were supported by positive business results for companies and the decline of political uncertainty in the United States.