Nikkei Longest Winning Run Since 1961

Japan's Nikkei 225 index topped 68,000 for the first time on Wednesday after US stocks pushed further into record territory. The dollar briefly surpassed 160 Japanese yen before slipping back slightly. Oil prices rose more than USD 1 a barrel. Buying of technology shares linked to the boom in artificial intelligence has been driving rallies worldwide. By midafternoon, the Nikkei 225 was up 2.9% at 68,634.74. Shares in computer chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron gained 13.4%, while those for chip testing equipment maker Advantest gained 5.9%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng lost 1.7% to 25,596.92, while the Shanghai Composite index added 0.4% to 4,092.53. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.9% to 8,806.40 and Taiwan's Taiex gained 2%. In India, the Sensex lost 1.1%. Markets in South Korea were closed for a holiday. On Tuesday, winners of the artificial-intelligence boom kept driving higher, pushing US stocks to more records. "One thing that stands out in today's market is how littl

At 6:30 AM, GIFT Nifty Futures were trading about 103 points lower at 24,741, suggesting a gap-down start for Indian markets.

Nikkei 225 index hit the 40,000 mark for the first time ever on Monday, continuing its bull-run that saw the index reclaim its 1989 peak of 34,000 levels in February

The Nikkei reclaimed its 1989 peak last month as investors from around the world piled into Japan's biggest companies on improving shareholder returns, the weaker yen and booming corporate profits

For the week, it gained 1.4 percent, its sixth straight weekly gain and the longest such winning streak in a year