Global Markets | Nikkei, Topix race to record close on earnings, 'Takaichi trade' optimism

Japan's Nikkei ‍share average closed at a record high on Tuesday, following robust ⁠quarterly earnings and momentum from Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's landslide victory in the general election.

The Nikkei 225 Index ended Tuesday's session up 2.3% to 57,650.54 ‌while the ‌broader Topix, which also closed at a record high, advanced 1.9% to ‌3,855.28. Earnings season is underway in the world's fourth-largest economy, and markets are buoyed by expectations that Takaichi's overwhelming victory on Sunday would enable her to push through big spending and tax relief.

"Following ​the ruling coalition's landslide victory in ​the general election, expectations for proactive fiscal policy are rising, and ‌hopes ‍for an economic boost are spreading in ‍the domestic stock market," said Takayuki Miyajima, a senior economist ‌at Sony Financial Group.


The Nikkei is up 12% so far this year, supported by hopes of fiscal stimulus under Takaichi and a global tech rally that has boosted semiconductor and artificial intelligence-linked shares.

Shares of cable maker Furukawa Electric reached their daily upper limit after the company ‍reported solid earnings on Monday, rising 22.3% on Tuesday and gaining a whopping 49.6% over the ‍past three ⁠sessions. Mazda Motor shares ⁠jumped 12%, the biggest daily gain since last July, after reporting better-than-expected results. Meanwhile, SoftBank Group, seen as a bellwether for artificial intelligence sentiment in Japan, provided the biggest lift to the Nikkei, gaining 10.7% after a rally in U.S. high-tech stocks and ahead of the company's earnings on Thursday.

There were 176 advancers on the Nikkei index against 46 decliners.