Japanese shares hit a new high intraday after a strong start to Friday's trading session. They closed higher as investors continued to cheer the Iran-US deal and the rise in AI stocks.
The Nikkei 225 hit a fresh record high intraday but was off its highs to finish the day up 196.57 points or 0.28% at 71,250.06.
Media reports suggest that investors showed keen interest in AI-related stocks, tracking the rally in US semiconductor shares.
On the domestic front, Japan's core consumer price index, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, rose 1.4% year over year in May, according to data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications released on Friday. Headline inflation accelerated to 1.5% from 1.4% the previous month,
On the corporate side, Fuji Jutaku (TYO:8860) said it completed its share buyback program, repurchasing 212,800 common shares for 160.2 million yen between June 1 and June 16, according to a Friday filing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
World Holdings Co (TYO:2429) also completed a 601.2 million yen share buyback, repurchasing 250,000 common shares, according to a Friday filing.
Separately, Frontier Real Estate Investment (TYO:8964) has secured long-term borrowings totalling 2 billion yen to refinance loans maturing on June 22, according to a Tokyo bourse filing on Friday.