Tokyo stocks snapped a three-day losing streak Friday, with the Nikkei index closing at a new 34-year high, lifted by technology shares amid hopes for robust semiconductor demand this year.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 497.10 points, or 1.40 percent, from Thursday at 35,963.27, its highest close since Feb. 20, 1990. The broader Topix index finished 17.94 points, or 0.72 percent, higher at 2,510.03.
On the top-tier Prime Market, gainers were led by precision instrument, electric appliance and metal product issues.
The U.S. dollar rose to a seven-week high to the upper 148 yen range in Tokyo amid receding expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in March following lower-than-expected U.S. initial jobless claims released Thursday.
On the equities market, heavyweight technology shares lifted the benchmark index after their U.S. peers were bought on an upbeat 2024 outlook Thursday from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., as the world's largest chipmaker expects growing demand for AI chips.
Major Japanese semiconductor-related issues including semiconductor silicon wafer manufacturer Sumco and photomask maker Hoya drew buying, helping the benchmark index to briefly climb above the 36,000 threshold.
Sentiment was also supported by the yen's continued weakness against the dollar, analysts said. A weaker yen raises prospects of boosted profits for Japanese exporters when repatriating earnings.
But the Nikkei ended below the psychologically-important 36,000 line, as investors sought to wind up their positions ahead of the weekend, before quarterly corporate earnings season begins and the Bank of Japan's two-day policy meeting starts Monday, analysts said.
"Staying above 36,000 proved difficult, but the scale of selling wasn't that large, indicating the Japanese market is still strong after recent gains," said Masahiro Yamaguchi, head of investment research at SMBC Trust Bank.
