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Nikkei index hits new record high in morning as tech shares rally

TOKYO (Kyodo) — Tokyo stocks surged Friday morning, with the Nikkei index hitting a new all-time high, led by technology shares following record-high closes on Wall Street overnight on eased U.S. inflation concerns.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 717.67 points, or 1.83 percent, from Thursday to 39,883.86. The broader Topix index was up 30.45 points, or 1.14 percent, at 2,706.18.

The U.S. dollar rose to the lower 150 yen range after comments by Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda at a press conference in Sao Paulo Thursday suggested the central bank is not yet ready to shift from its negative interest rate policy.

At noon, the U.S. dollar fetched 150.33-38 yen compared with 149.92-150.02 yen in New York and 149.66-69 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Thursday.

The euro was quoted at $1.0817-0821 and 162.63-70 yen against $1.0800-0810 and 162.00-10 yen in New York, and $1.0828-0829 and 162.07-11 yen in Tokyo late Thursday afternoon.

Stocks’ gains were led by buying in heavyweight semiconductor and electronics shares after the U.S. Nasdaq and S&P 500 indexes closed at record highs overnight.

Sentiment was boosted as concerns of unexpectedly high inflation in the United States eased after personal consumption expenditure for January was in line with market expectations, supporting hopes for a soft landing in the world’s largest economy, analysts said.

While the data still showed prices increased, “expectations for artificial intelligence are so high that semiconductor-related stocks are still expected to rise even without U.S. interest rate cuts soon,” said Tomoichiro Kubota, senior market analyst at Matsui Securities Co.

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