Nikkei Closes Above 40,000; Chip Stocks, China’s ‘Two Sessions’ Credited for Score

Japan's Nikkei 225 closed above the 40,000 mark on Monday (Mar. 4), an unprecedented record after the S&P500 (0.80% / 5,137.08) and the Nasdaq composite (1.14% / 16,274.94) also hit all-time highs last week.

CNBC reported that the index ended 0.5% higher at 40,109.23, while the broader Topix fell 0.12%, retreating from its all-time high hit on Friday (Mar. 1). The rally was led by the tech industry

The CSI 300 closed 0.1% higher at 3,540.87, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.23%. The scores reflected investors' focus on China's "Two Sessions" meetings, pertaining to the annual meetings of China's legislature, the National People's Congress, and the country's top political advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang would be expected to tell both meetings the government's work report, which would detail economic and policy goals for the world's second-largest economy, including its gross domestic product growth target.

(Photo: KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP via Getty Images)

Other Growth, Loss Elsewhere

Market growth was also noticed outside eastern Asia as India's Nifty 50 rose 0.1%—led by energy stocks—to a new record for the third straight day.

After a long weekend, South Korea's markets returned to trading in the black, with Kospi rising at 1.21% to end at 2,674.27, while the small-cap Kosdaq was up 1.16% to finish at 872.97.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 ended 0.13% lower at 7,735.80 after hitting an all-time closing high of 7,745.6 on Friday.

Meanwhile, on the commodities front, there was a slight rise in oil prices, with West Texas Intermediate crude prices briefly crossing the $80 mark for the first time in four months as oil heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Russia, alongside other key OPEC+ producers, said they would extend voluntary crude supply cuts until the end of the second quarter.