Nikkei 225 Breaks Through 59,000, Sets Intraday Record High for Second Day

The Nikkei 225, Japan’s benchmark stock index, broke through the 59,000 mark for the first time on the 26th, setting a new intraday record high for the second consecutive day.
At the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Nikkei 225 closed the morning session at 58,856, up 0.47% from the previous trading day. During the session, it climbed as high as 59,332, renewing its intraday record for a second straight day.
Kyodo News reported, "Buying dominated the stock market as the U.S. New York stock market rose overnight and the yen continued to weaken."
On the 25th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rose 307.65 points, or 0.63%, to close at 49,482.15. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (S&P 500) gained 56.06 points (0.81%) to 6,946.13, while the Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 288.4 points (1.26%) to finish at 23,152.08.
After the market closed, Nvidia announced that its revenue for the fourth quarter of last year (November 2025 to January 2026) came in at 68.13 billion dollars. This exceeded the market consensus of 66.2 billion dollars. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) were 1.62 dollars, slightly above the market forecast of 1.52 dollars.
Kazuyoshi Saito, chief analyst at IwaiCosmo Securities, said, "The results showed that demand from hyperscalers for Nvidia’s cutting-edge semiconductors remains very solid," adding that concerns in the market about excessive investment have, for the time being, been eased.
However, profit-taking dominated semiconductor-related stocks on the Japanese market that day.
Advantest at one point fell 4.68%, and Lasertec and Tokyo Electron also traded weaker.
In contrast, insurance and banking stocks saw buying interest. Kohei Onishi, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, analyzed, "Expectations for an early rate hike have receded, but the overall trend toward higher interest rates remains in place, drawing in bargain-hunting demand."
Nikkei, however, pointed out that short-term overheating signals are also emerging in the Japanese stock market. The Nikkei 225 has risen about 1,700 points so far this week. Its deviation rate from the 25-day moving average, a short-term trend indicator on the chart, has exceeded 6%, above the 5% level that is typically regarded as "overbought."
Tetsuro Miyachi, head of investments at SBI Okasan Asset Management, noted, "In addition to solid corporate earnings, expectations for the Takaichi Cabinet are very strong."
sjmary@fnnews.com Seo Hye-jin Reporter