Japanese equities closed higher on Wednesday, with the Nikkei 225 gaining after J.P. Morgan raised its year-end target for the benchmark to 70,000 from 61,000, citing momentum in AI and a weaker yen.
On Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.4%, or 236.69 points, to close at 59,585.86.
Analysts at J.P. Morgan said concerns about overheating in the Nikkei 225 outweigh improving long-term growth prospects for Japanese equities, even as crude prices stay elevated.
The benchmark index climbed to a record on Wednesday, nearing the 60,000 mark, as it recovered from a broad global selloff linked to tensions in the Middle East.
In economic news, Japan's trade surplus widened to 667 billion yen in March as exports grew faster than imports, with shipments to China and the U.S. offsetting a sharp slump in Middle East trade amid the Iran conflict, data from the Ministry of Finance Japan showed.
The Bank of Japan said the financial system remains stable but flagged rising risks from geopolitical tensions, higher oil costs, and exposures to real estate, foreign funds and leveraged market activity.
On the corporate front, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (TYO:8306) fell over 1% after a report said it is considering offering higher deposit rates for a planned digital bank to compete on speed and cost.
Tokyo Electric Power (TYO:9501) rose about 4% after securing 4.7 billion yen in fresh grants to support ongoing nuclear compensation payouts.
Advantest Corporation (TYO:6857) gained around 3% after joining Applied Materials' EPIC platform and opening a Silicon Valley research center to advance chip development.