TOKYO, February 16 (Reuters) – Japanese stocks, which hit a 30-year high in the previous session, extended their rally on Tuesday as progress in circulating coronavirus vaccines boosted expectations that the global economy is poised to recover strongly.
The Nikkei 225 Index rose 1.18% to 30,439.54 by 01:44 GMT as finance and property shares increased. At one point the Nikkei rose to 30,487.65, the highest level since August 1990.
The overall Topix rose 0.64% to 1,966,45 and at one point hit its highest level since June 1991.
Japanese stocks have followed global equities markets higher in a dizzying bull as money flows into more risky assets in anticipation of rapid development in economic growth and corporate profits, but some analysts are concerned that recent benefits are unsustainable.
“There are fundamental reasons to support stocks, but people have been concerned about the pace of the rally since the Nikkei reached 29,000,” said Kiyoshi Ishigane, chief asset manager at Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management.
“However, they do not appear to be stopping. ”
Physical employment has recently been favorable, and Japan is expected to launch coronavirus vaccines this week.
In addition, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Tuesday that the recent stock rally reflected the global outlook, erasing speculations that its monetary policy was fueling a bubble.
The stocks that gained the most among the top 30 Topix Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc were up 4.04%, followed by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc, which gained 4.64%.
The runners-up among the Topix 30 were Toyota Motor Corp, down 1.15%, followed by Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd, which lost 0.74%.
The Nikkei index had 137 promoters against 87 rejections.
The volume of shares traded on the main board of the Tokyo Stock Exchange was 0.53 billion, compared to an average of 1.27 billion in the last 30 days.
Reciting with Stanley White; Edited by Vinay Dwivedi