Nikkei 225 Crosses Historic 72,000 Milestone as Tech, AI Stocks Rally
Japanese equities surged to an all-time high on Monday, crossing the psychological 72,000 threshold for the first time, driven by the shares of AI companies after recovering from a weak opening.The benchmark Nikkei 225 closed up 1,103.90 points or 1.55% at 72,353.96 after hitting an intra-day high of 72,831.73 on Monday.The Japanese government aims to invest 10.5 trillion yen in physical artificial intelligence by fiscal 2040 under the government's new growth strategy covering 17 priority industries, Nikkei reported Friday.The report said the initiative aims to boost productivity and global competitiveness through public-private investment, with a focus on physical AI covering factory automation, autonomous transport, and infrastructure inspection.Sentiment was also buoyed by reports of Iranian negotiators saying progress had been made in peace talks with the US, as both sides try to reach a peaceful resolution to the crisis in the Middle East.On the corporate side, Japan's Ajinomoto (TYO:2802) has proposed taking its Malaysian subsidiary, Ajinomoto (Malaysia) (KLSE:AJI), private through a selective capital reduction and repayment exercise, according to a Friday filing with the Malaysian stock exchange.Also, PowerX (TYO:485A) has secured its first international order, a 1.7 billion yen large-scale battery storage system for Vietnam, placed by Toyota Tsusho Group (TYO:8015) member Elematec (TYO:2715). The PowerX Mega Power 2700 units will contribute to regional grid stability and energy security, with revenue expected in the latter half of the year, according to a Tokyo bourse filing on Friday.
