Tokyo stocks reached all-time highs for a second consecutive day and for the fourth time in six trading days, and then languished through to the close and ended down 0.38%.
The Nikkei 225 stock index reached the record — of 43,876.42 — right after the open in the morning on Tuesday, beating the previous high of 43,835.12 set Monday.
Fresh news has been lacking this week after stocks rallied last week on optimism related to recent trade agreements, positive economic statistics and peace talks. Share prices continued to move up Monday mainly on momentum and the lack of any bad news.
Overnight, stocks traded indecisively and with little conviction. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 fell slightly Monday, while the Nasdaq Composite index increased 0.03%.
In Tokyo, Mitsubishi UFJ dropped 2.63% on Tuesday. SoftBank Group, which announced a $2 billion investment in Santa Clara, California’s Intel, fell 4.01% after a brief surge following the news.
Pharmaceutical companies continued the rally on Tuesday, with Daiichi Sankyo rising by 4.78% and Chugai Pharmaceutical 4.45%.
The yen weakened, briefly rising above ¥148 to the dollar and trading at about ¥147.6 in the afternoon.
The Nikkei 225 hit record highs on Tuesday and Wednesday last week, then retreated Thursday after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made comments that suggested Japan needs to raise its interest rates.
Stocks did not reach another all-time high on Friday but still managed to end the day at a new closing high after data showed the Japanese economy performed beyond expectations in the second quarter.
Real GDP in the three months ended in June rose by an annualized 1%.
On Monday, the benchmark rose after trading started and spent most of the day in positive territory, hitting an all-time high during the day and ending up 0.77% at 43,714.31, a record close.
Tokyo stocks hit a fourth all-time high in six trading days
