Japan's stock market ended Thursday with a strong advance, the Nikkei 225 finishing the day up 5.80% to a new all-time closing high. The session was characterized by broad gains led by the Real Estate, Banking and Textile sectors, and notable single-stock moves pushed several issues to multi-year or record highs.
Top movers and losers
On the Nikkei 225, Ibiden Co Ltd (TYO:4062) led the gainers, jumping 22.43% - an increase of 3,000.00 points - to close at 16,375.00. SUMCO Corp. (TYO:3436) rose 19.74%, adding 500.00 points to finish at 3,033.00, while Kioxia Holdings Corp (TYO:285A) climbed 19.23%, up 7,000.00 points to close at 43,410.00. These moves pushed Ibiden and Kioxia to all-time highs and SUMCO to a five-year high, according to closing prices.
On the downside, Inpex Corp. (TYO:1605) was the session's largest laggard on the index, falling 6.51% or 268.00 points to end at 3,850.00. M3 Inc (TYO:2413) slipped 5.48% to 1,414.50, a move that took it to a 52-week low, and Sojitz Corp. (TYO:2768) dropped 4.97% to 5,909.00.
Breadth and market structure
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a wide margin on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, with 2,448 stocks higher versus 1,124 lower and 232 unchanged. The strong breadth accompanied the index-level gain and reinforced the session's broad-based nature.
Volatility and sentiment indicators
The Nikkei Volatility index, which measures implied volatility in Nikkei 225 options, rose 39.22% to 39.79, indicating a notable uptick in option market volatility even as equities rallied.
Commodities and currencies
In commodities, crude oil for June delivery declined 0.43% or 0.41 to $94.67 a barrel, while Brent oil for July delivery fell 0.34% or 0.34 to $100.93 a barrel. The June Gold Futures contract increased 1.16% or 54.25 to trade at $4,748.55 a troy ounce.
In foreign exchange, USD/JPY moved down 0.06% to 156.29, and EUR/JPY declined 0.05% to 183.62. The US Dollar Index Futures was marginally higher, up 0.02% at 97.89.
Conclusion
Thursday's session produced a sharp rally in Japan's equity market, lifting the Nikkei 225 to a record closing level. The advance was broad but punctuated by significant individual stock moves in both directions. Option-implied volatility rose materially, and commodity and currency markets registered modest, mixed moves.