12.02.202600:37:08UTC+00Japanese Shares Advance in Post-Holiday Trade

The Nikkei 225 rose 0.4% to around 57,880 on Thursday, while the broader Topix Index also gained 0.4% to 3,870, with Japanese equities extending their rally to fresh record highs as investors returned from a public holiday. Sentiment remained supported by expectations that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s expansionary fiscal agenda will further bolster domestic growth following her landslide general election victory. Japanese stocks also continued to benefit from portfolio reallocation, as some foreign investors rotated out of US equities into markets offering relatively more attractive valuations and solid growth prospects.

At the individual stock level, JX Advanced Metals and Furukawa Electric rose 3.3% and 4.5%, respectively, after reporting strong earnings. Kioxia Holdings and SoftBank Group advanced 3.7% and 2.9%, respectively, ahead of their upcoming earnings releases.