Japan's Nikkei hits 51,000 for 1st time
Japan's Nikkei 225 Index just crossed the 51,000 mark for the first time ever, jumping over 2% on Wednesday.
This record comes hot on the heels of earlier this week's breakthrough above 50,000.
The big drivers? Investor excitement around AI and semiconductor stocks.
AI buzz lifts tech stocks
Most of this rally is thanks to tech companies riding the AI wave. Advantest shares soared more than 20% after raising its profit forecast due to strong demand.
SoftBank Group also got a boost, up 2.1%, helped by buzz from US tech moves like NVIDIA landing a major AI contract and Microsoft investing more in OpenAI.
Political stability, trade tensions help
Political stability under new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and easing US-China trade tensions are making investors feel even better about Japan right now.
But here's a heads-up: only about a quarter of Nikkei companies actually gained, so this surge is mostly about tech—and analysts say future growth depends on whether that momentum keeps going.