Japanese and Taiwanese stocks rose to all-time highs on Thursday, July 4, with SoftBank Group shares hitting an all-time high.
The Nikkei index jumped about 0.8% to 40,913 points, surpassing the all-time high recorded in March when the index rose to 40,888 points.
The Topix index also rose to a new record high of about 0.9% at 2,898 points, surpassing the record level recorded in December 1989 when it rose to 2,886 points.
Coinciding with the gains in Asian markets, Japanese SoftBank shares jumped to an all-time high, continuing gains for the seventh consecutive session, up about 2.5%.
According to Japan's largest labor union, companies have offered the biggest wage increases in three decades this year.
The largest companies with 300 or more workers supported by labor unions raised wages by about 5.19%, while smaller companies increased wages by 4.45%.
In Taiwan, the Taiwan Weighted Index hit an all-time high, surpassing the record set on June 20 when it rose to 23,406 points.
The index received support from chip stocks, as Foxconn rose by about 5%, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing rose by 2.66%.
Investors will also assess other data from the Asia-Pacific region, such as business activity in Hong Kong and trade balance data in Australia.
