Stock market today: Asian shares track Wall Street rally as Japan's Nikkei nears a record high
Shares in Asia are higher, with Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index approaching a record high
BANGKOK — Shares advanced in Asia on Friday, with Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index trading near a record high, 34 years after it peaked and then plunged with the collapse of Japan's financial bubble.
U.S. futures were lower after stocks on Wall Street set another record following some mixed reports on the economy.
The Nikkei 225 was up 1.1% at 38,591.90. It has been hovering just below the record high of 38,915.87 that it set on Dec. 29, 1989, right before a plunge in share and property prices ushered in an era of slower, faltering growth.
Share prices have been pressing higher despite persisting signs of weakness in the Japanese economy, which fell into recession in the last quarter of 2023. Efforts to sustain growth at higher levels have had limited success, undermined by weak private investment and consumer spending.
Changes to rules regarding tax-free investment accounts have accounted for some of the runup in share prices. A weak yen has attracted bargain hunters, and Japanese markets also have profited from investors shifting out of Chinese markets.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 1.8% to 16,226.87 and the Kospi in Seoul rose 1.1% to 2,642.14.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.7% to 7,658.40. Bangkok's SET rose 0.6% and the Sensex in India was up 0.4%.
Taiwan's Taiex edged 0.1% lower a day after breaching a record high as major market mover TSMC, the world's biggest computer chip maker, surged nearly 8%. That jump followed an upgrade by analysts of share price recommendations for Nvidia, whose main chip supplier is TSMC, due to expected growth in artificial intelligence.
On Thursday, the S&P
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