TOKYO – Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei index jumped nearly 2% today on hopes for business recovery, closing above the psychologically important 30,000 mark for the first time in more than three decades.
The Nikkei 225 index rose 1.91%, or 564.08 points, to 30,084.15, the highest close since 1990.
The broader Topix index advanced 1.04%, or 20.06 points, to 1,953.94.
“Market sentiment has been supported by hopes for business recovery ahead of the nation’s first (Covid-19) vaccination,” said Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities.
The coronavirus vaccine rollout is scheduled to start as early as Wednesday in Japan for healthcare professionals.
“Hopes for stimulus and monetary easing are also high, which helped bolster positive sentiment,” Horiuchi told AFP.
“But profit-taking could emerge at this level as the market is overheating,” he added. – AFP, February 15, 2021