Nikki Closes at Its Peak of 30 Years With The Rise of Drugmakers

Japan’s Nikkei index rose to close at its highest level in three decades on Tuesday, as drugmakers’ shares led activity thanks to a report stating that a drug manufactured by Chujai Pharmaceuticals is effective in treating Covid-19 patients.

The Nikkei index rose 0.09% to 28,164.34 points, after recovering from early lows, while the broader Topix index rose 0.16% to 1,857.94 points.

chugai Pharmaceutical Company jumped 5.91% on news of a drug’s effectiveness, which helped boost the pharmaceutical companies’ index, up 1.68%.

Other companies, such as Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Shionogi & Co also gained between 1.95% and 3.38%.

The news of the Covid-19 treatment comes at a time when Japan intends to expand its declaration of a state of emergency to three provinces in the west of the country, including Osaka, to contain the spread of Covid-19, according to local media.

Among other stocks, SoftBank Group’s share gained 1.36% after a fund it managed to sell part of its stake in Uber Technologies for $ 2 billion.

Semiconductor stocks rose due to the prospect of stronger demand for chips, with Tokyo Electron adding 0.29% and Shin-Etsu Chemical adding 3.29%.

Toyota shares slipped 0.59% and Honda fell 1.55%.

The lowest-performing stock on the Topix 30 index was Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, which fell 2.54%, followed by Seven and I Holdings, which lost 2.08%.