The Nikkei 225 Index climbed 1.92% to 50,453 on Monday, comfortably surpassing the 50,000-point mark, tracking Friday’s strong performance on Wall Street. The rally on Wall Street was driven by robust technology earnings and easing concerns over a potential technology boom risk. The gains in the index were also supported by a weakening yen amid the Bank of Japan’s widely anticipated rate hike. The central bank raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 0.75%, the highest level since 1995. A sharp drop in the yen is set to lift export earnings for Japanese companies. Meanwhile, investors kept a close eye on Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s policy initiatives aimed at boosting economic growth. Gains were broad-based, with notable performers including Toyota Motor Corp (1.4%), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (2.3%), SoftBank Group (6.6%), and Tokyo Electron (4.7%).
