Nikkei climbs to 6-year high, driven by retail investors

Tax-free investment accounts aimed at driving Japanese savings into stocks kick off

Tokyo's Nikkei share average climbed to a more than six-year high on Thursday, driven by buying from retail investors as tax-free investment accounts aimed at driving Japanese savings into stocks kicked off.

The Nikkei ended 1% higher at 16,174.44, its highest since November 2007, while the broader Topix index was up 1.7% at 1,279.34, with 2.66 billion share changing hands, hitting its highest in four sessions.

The government-sponsored investment plan, known as Nippon Individual Savings Account, will provide a five-year tax holiday on dividends and capital gains provided the money is invested in stocks, mutual funds or exchange traded funds.

The benchmark Nikkei is up 55.6% this year, on track for its best annual performance since 1972, driven by Japan's aggressive fiscal and monetary stimulus to boost growth in the world's third-largest economy.