Japan\u2019s Nikkei 225 index rose 1.03% on Friday<\/strong>, closing at 34,730.28<\/strong>, marking its highest finish in two weeks<\/strong> and notching its strongest weekly performance since mid-January<\/strong>, as hopes grew for progress in U.S.-led trade negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The index touched an intraday high of 34,758.97<\/strong> before paring slightly into the close. The broader Topix index gained 1.14%<\/strong>, also contributing to the upbeat tone in Tokyo, even as trading volumes remained light due to Easter-related market closures across Europe and the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the week, the Nikkei jumped 3.41%<\/strong>, snapping a three-week losing streak<\/strong>, with optimism around diplomatic developments fueling investor sentiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The rally came amid growing expectations that U.S. President Donald Trump<\/strong> could successfully broker trade deals with key allies, including Japan<\/strong> and the European Union<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBig Progress!\u201d Trump posted on social media following the meeting.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The positive tone from diplomatic circles helped buoy markets, especially sectors with global exposure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pharmaceutical stocks led sectoral gains<\/strong>, with the TSE\u2019s pharma index surging 4.68%<\/strong>. The standout performer was Chugai Pharmaceutical<\/strong>, which soared 17.54%<\/strong> after reporting strong clinical trial results for an obesity drug licensed to Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shipping stocks<\/strong> followed closely, climbing 2.92%<\/strong>, supported by easing trade tensions and improving outlooks for global logistics and freight volumes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the broader market\u2019s strength, semiconductor-related shares lagged<\/strong> after a short-lived bounce on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Investors remain cautious toward the chip sector amid uncertainty around U.S. export restrictions<\/strong> and cooling demand<\/strong> from key overseas markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the Nikkei\u2019s weekly performance signals a turnaround<\/strong>, market participants remain alert to the next phase of trade talks<\/strong>, particularly those between the U.S. and China, as well as the progression of U.S.-Japan negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The global risk environment<\/strong>, coupled with developments in semiconductor policy and macroeconomic data<\/strong>, will likely shape sentiment heading into April.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Japan\u2019s Nikkei 225 index rose 1.03% on Friday, closing at 34,730.28, marking its highest finish in two weeks and notching its strongest weekly performance since mid-January, as hopes grew for progress in U.S.-led trade negotiations. The index touched an intraday high of 34,758.97 before paring slightly into the close. The broader Topix index gained 1.14%, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":57860,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-113809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-forex-markets","category-market-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113809"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":113810,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113809\/revisions\/113810"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\n\n\nTrade Talks Lift Sentiment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nPharmaceuticals and Shipping Lead Gains<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nChip Stocks Weigh on Index<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nOutlook<\/h3>\n\n\n\n