On Thursday Japanese stocks resumed their victories, rising to a
fresh 15-year high after breaking a five-session winning streak in the
previous session.
The Nikkei Average closed up 1.1% to 18,785.79, its best level since April 2000. On Wednesday it was 0.1% down. The broader Topix also finished 0.9% higher.
The yen was a little stronger versus the greenback, trading at ¥118.75, from ¥118.83 at the previous market close.
A strong rebound in global crude prices gave a boost to oil expolorers in the previous session. Inpex Corporation rallied 3.3%, and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd. gained 2.8%.
Among top outperformers, auto maker Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
and banking group Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. both jumped 3.2%.
Electronics manufacturer TDK Corporation climbed 2.1%, media conglomerate Sony Corp. rose 2%, and Internet and telecoms giant SoftBank Corp. improved by 1.7%.
As of other Asian markets, they mostly advanced, with mainland China’s Shanghai Composite Index heading up 2.2%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tacked on 0.5%, and Seoul’s Kospi Composite Index drifted 0.1% higher. However, Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.6%.
