Japan's Nikkei index rose to its highest levels since February 1990 on Thursday, as the yen's decline supported companies that export their products, and caution regarding the Bank of Japan's interest rate hike eased after the release of data showing contraction in the value of wages.
The Nikkei index rose 1.77 percent in its third consecutive day of gains this week and closed at the highest level in nearly 34 years at 35,049.86 points. The index is also on track to record its largest weekly gain since late March 2020.
The broader Topix index rose 1.57 percent to end the session at 2,482.87 points.
Data published on Wednesday showed that real wages for workers contracted for the twentieth consecutive month in November, confusing officials who want to monitor wage gains first before tightening monetary policy.
The yen fell 0.9 percent against the US dollar on Wednesday night after the data, and is hovering around 145.52 in Asian trading.
The decline of the yen supports the shares of companies that export their products, as it increases the value of the profits they record abroad in their value in local currency when the companies bring them back to Japan.
Japanese stocks also received a boost from a good performance witnessed by shares of companies with huge market capitalizations on Wall Street.
SMC shares increased 4.69 percent, topping the winning stocks on Thursday, followed by Itochu Corp., which increased 4.5 percent, and KDDI Communications, whose shares increased 4.21 percent.
Sony shares also recorded an increase of 3.54 percent, and Suzuki Motor shares increased by 3.86 percent.
As for the companies whose shares witnessed the largest losses in percentage terms, they were Yamato Holdings, whose shares fell by 3.85 percent, Rakuten Group by 2.44 percent, and Tokyo Gas by 1.43 percent.
