Published Thu, Feb 26, 2026 · 04:05 PM
[TOKYO] Japan’s Nikkei share average surpassed the 59,000 mark for the first time on Thursday (Feb 26), led by software-related shares as investor fears over disruption from artificial intelligence eased.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.3 per cent to close at 58,753.39, an all-time closing high, after rising as high as 59,332.43 in earlier trade. So far, the Nikkei is up 16.4 per cent for the year. The broader Topix climbed 1 per cent to 3,880.34.
The Nikkei index lost some steam over the course of the session as markets digested the chipmaker Nvidia’s results, analysts said.
“Since it was widely expected that Nvidia would post strong results, and it did, this has prompted some profit-taking for the moment,” said Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities.
The Nikkei’s 14-day relative strength index (RSI) was slightly above the 70-mark that indicates gains have stretched too far and are poised to reverse.
Software-related shares surged, with software test service firm Shift jumping 14.4 per cent to become the largest percentage gainer on the Nikkei, marking its biggest rise since July 2024. IT service firms NEC Corp rallied 9.4 per cent and Fujitsu advanced 6 per cent.
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The banking sector was among the best performers in the Tokyo bourse’s 33 industry groupings, after Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda flagged a chance of an early rate hike in a newspaper interview. Japan’s third-largest lender Mizuho Financial Group rose 5.1 per cent while its rival Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group added 3.3 per cent.
On the flip side, chip-testing equipment maker Advantest slipped 1.7 per cent and chipmaking equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron lost 2 per cent. The two companies dragged the Nikkei index by about 128 and 90 points, respectively.
The largest losers in percentage terms on the Nikkei index were electronic component maker Taiyo Yuden down 4.7 per cent, followed by wire and cable manufacturer Sumitomo Electric Industries which fell 4.4 per cent and department store Takashimaya, which shed 4.4 per cent.
There were 143 advancers on the Nikkei index against 76 decliners. REUTERS
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