Japan’s Nikkei share average rose to a record high on Friday, powered by renewed optimism for a near-term peace deal in the Middle East and strong enthusiasm for AI stocks following robust earnings from Dell Technologies.
The Nikkei climbed 2.5 percent to close at a lifetime high of 66,329.50. It also set a new all-time intraday peak at 66,505.02.
The broader Topix advanced 1.4 percent to close at a record 3,957.17, and hit a new intraday high of 3,984.58.
Sources told Reuters that the U.S. and Iran have reached an agreement to extend their ceasefire and lift restrictions on shipping, although U.S. President Donald Trump has yet to approve it, and Iranian state media said the deal had not been finalised.
Conflicting headlines in recent days around progress in U.S.-Iran negotiations have caused stocks to fluctuate. For the week, however, the Nikkei gained 4.7 percent and the Topix rose 1.7 percent.
The Nikkei’s outperformance was largely driven by its heavy weighting in technology and AI-related stocks. SoftBank Group rose 5.1 percent on Friday, bringing its weekly gain to 10.9 percent.
On Thursday, Dell raised its annual revenue and profit forecasts, signalling continued strong demand for its AI-optimised servers due to client data centre expansion.
“Dell Technologies commented that there is no sign of a slowdown in AI demand,” which drove gains in Japanese AI stocks such as SoftBank, said Wataru Akiyama, a strategist at Nomura Securities.
Meanwhile, “announcements from both the U.S. and Iran suggesting progress toward a provisional agreement have provided a sense of reassurance to the market,” he added.
Of the Nikkei’s 225 components, 163 rose while 61 fell, with one ending flat.
Silicon wafer maker Sumco soared more than 19 percent, making it the index’s biggest gainer.
However, not all AI-related shares advanced, with data centre cable makers Fujikura and Furukawa Electric falling 4.9 percent and 4.1 percent respectively, among the Nikkei’s worst performers.
Reuters
