Japanese stocks saw substantial foreign investor inflows in the week ending April 18, fueled by a rally in artificial intelligence-related companies and improved risk sentiment attributed to hopes for Middle East peace.
Foreigners purchased a net 2.38 trillion yen ($14.92 billion) of Japanese equities. This follows a record 3.94 trillion yen net purchase the previous week. Early-stage technology stock rallies, including a 19.83% surge in SoftBank Group and an 11.52% rise in Advantest, boosted market appetite.
The Nikkei index surpassed the 60,000 level for the first time, coinciding with U.S. President Donald Trump's indefinite extension of the Iran ceasefire. This geopolitical development contributed to the positive market outlook.
Conversely, foreign investors offloaded 298.2 billion yen of Japanese long-term bonds, ending a two-week trend of net purchases. They did, however, acquire 1.89 billion yen in short-term bills.