TOKYO: Japan's Nikkei share average ended nearly 3% higher on Friday, as investors scooped up stocks after U.S. President Donald Trump touted a possible peace deal with Iran.
The Nikkei closed up 2.81% at 66,020.04 after rising as much as 4.4% earlier in the session. In a volatile week, the index was down 0.85% for the week, snapping a three-week winning streak. The broader Topix gained 1.35% to 3,881.96. Trump on Thursday said the U.S. and Iran could sign a peace deal as soon as this weekend that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, but Iran countered that it had not reached a final decision on an agreement.
Chip-related shares led the Nikkei's gain, with Advantest and Tokyo Electron jumping 8.54% and 7.26%, respectively. Bank shares rose ahead of the Bank of Japan's policy meeting next week, where the central bank is set to raise the policy rate to a 31-year high of 1%.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group rose 0.67% and 2.29%, respectively. For the year so far, the bank index is up 30% and at the same level as in mid-February, before the Middle East war broke out.
It underperforms a 68% gain of the nonferrous sector , where makers of fibre-optic cables such as Fujikura and Furukawa Electric, used by AI data centres, belong.
"This signals the instability of the equity market. Investors have not yet started rotating their targets toward a wide variety of stocks," said Takamasa Ikeda, a senior portfolio manager at GCI Asset Management.
Staffing agency Recruit Holdings and electronic component maker Murata Manufacturing fell 3.27% and 4.58%, respectively, to weigh on the Nikkei the most.
Camera and audio equipment maker Sony Group fell 2.29%. - Reuters
