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Nikkei extends record rally on pharma increase

Japan's Nikkei share average scaled a record high on Monday, supported by upbeat performances in pharmaceuticals, as market belief continued to run high after the benchmark index broke the 1989 alltime peak last week.

The Nikkei was up 0.54% at 39,309.80 by the midday break. The index climbed as high as 39,388.08 to protect an all-time peak after the market resumed trade following a vacation on Friday.

The broader Topix was up 0.84% at 2,683.08.

The brand-new high comes after the index on Thursday breached levels last seen in 1989 during the halcyon days of the bubble economy.

Japanese stocks have risen on the back of low-cost assessments and corporate reforms, which have been successful in tempting back foreign money searching for alternatives to battered Chinese markets. The index has actually acquired 16.8% so far this year.

The Nikkei got further momentum as the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average, which are carefully tracked by Japanese investors, ended at record highs on Friday.

Gains were reasonably broad on Monday, with 136 of the Nikkei's 225 constituents advancing against 87 decliners.

The total market remains in an uptrend, but within this uptrend ... there's a sense that traders are choosing the shares that are running behind and haven't been bought as much, stated Hiroshi Namioka, primary strategist at T&D Property Management.

The pharmaceutical sector outperformed, with the sub-index up more than 2%.

Big pharma companies Chugai Pharmaceutical and Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd were up 4.41% and 3.42%, respectively.

Shares of technology-related companies pulled away from current highs, with Screen Holdings Co Ltd down 2.59%, followed by Lasertec Corp losing 2.46%. Sony Group Corp. was down 2.33%.

(source: Reuters)