Nikkei index reaches the peak of the economic “bubble” era in Japan

Japan’s Nikkei index rose on Friday to its highest level since August 1990, during what is known as the country’s economic “bubble” era, driven by a combination of positive factors such as strong earnings, an economy showing signs of recovery and optimism about US debt ceiling talks.

The Nikkei index jumped to 30,924.57 points, before ending the session up 0.77 percent at 30,808.35 points, in the seventh consecutive session of the rise.

The broader Topix index continued to rise, recording 2171.37 points, before falling, ending the session with 0.18 percent gains at 2161.69.

The rise in Japanese stocks was supported by a strong earnings season in general, the weakness of the yen, which was reinforced by the expectations of the Bank of Japan continuing stimulus for a longer period, as well as the economy, which began to show signs of recovery after the Covid pandemic.

The Nikkei index, during its rise to a 33-year peak, drew momentum from growing optimism that US lawmakers would reach an agreement on the debt ceiling and avoid a catastrophic default.

Among the 33 sectors on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the precision machinery sector led the rise, rising 1.43 percent, followed by the services sector, up 1.35 percent, and machinery, which rose 1.08 percent.

Uniqlo department store operator Fast Retailing was the biggest gainer by points on the Nikkei index, rising 2.19 percent.

Shares of chipmakers started Friday strongly in the wake of the rise in the prices of their counterparts in the United States, but they gave up gains or recorded a sharp decline later.

Advantest initially rose 3.35 percent, but ended the day as the worst performer on the Nikkei, down 2.86 percent.

Financial sector stocks fell 1.56 percent after hitting a two-month high on Thursday.