Nikkei hits record high as Nvidia optimism drives chips rally

Japan’s Nikkei share average on February 22 surged past the 1989 bubble-era record high, as chip-related stocks led across-the-board gains after U.S. chipmaker Nvidia’s outlook beat market expectations.

The Nikkei rose to a high of 39,029.00, crossing the record high of 38,957.44 scaled on the final trading day of 1989 during the height of Japan’s bubble economy.

At the new peak of 39,029.00 the benchmark has risen 52% from its Jan 2023 trough, supercharged by a tech-rally, corporate governance changes and rising exporters’ profits thanks to a weak yen.

Nvidia shares surged 6% overnight after it forecast fiscal first-quarter revenue above estimates on robust demand for its chips that dominate the market for artificial intelligence (AI).

“For us traders, this marks the arrival of a new era. It feels like the stock market is telling us that we’ve finally escaped from deflation and a new world has opened up,” said Tsutomu Yamada, senior market analyst at au kabu.com Securities.

Tokyo Electron jumped 4.95% to give the biggest boost to the Nikkei. The chip-making equipment maker rose 43.5% so far this year, while chip-testing equipment maker Advantest surged 5.7%.

Another chip-related Screen Holdings is up nearly 10% in the current session, while tech-start up investor SoftBank Group rose 4.54%.

Auto parts and automakers rose 2.04% to become the biggest gainers among the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s 33 industry sub-indexes.

Of the 225 components on the Nikkei, 159 stocks rose and 66 fell. Reuters