In Tokyo on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 was up 1.4 percent to 13,617.24, its highest close since May 2001. The Topix index rose even more, gaining 1.9 percent to 1,428.13 on the day.
The gains came on figures showing retail sales in Japan up 1.5 percent from August of last year, a confirmation that domestic demand has grown. Also helping stocks gain ground was anticipation of positive news with Friday’s release of industrial production and consumer price inflation data.
The banking sector was up after Wednesday’s comments that the Bank of Japan could soon be abandoning its ultra-easy monetary policy, which could lead to higher lending rates. SMFG was up 0.9 percent to ¥1,070,000, while MTFG gained 5.1 percent to ¥1,450,000 and Mizuho rose by 5.3 percent to ¥742,000.
The steel sector was also up again. Sumitomo Metal Industries gained 8.8 percent to ¥435, while Nippon Steel was up 6.9 percent to ¥452. In the retail sector, department store Takashimaya rose 3.3 percent to ¥1,406 on a raised earnings forecast in the six months ending in August.
Wholesale broadband provider eAccess was up 8.4 percent to ¥86,000 on the announcement that it might invest in a mobile phone service. Consumer electronics company Sanyo dropped 4.3 percent to ¥288 after its restructuring announcement on Wednesday.