BANGKOK – Asian shares started the week off with a rally, as Japan’s Nikkei 225 index briefly topped 30,000 for the first time since August 1990.
As of midday the Nikkei had fallen back below that level but was still up 1.3%, at 29,914.02. Shares also rose in India, South Korea and Australia.
Markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong were closed for the Lunar New Year. The strong buying in Tokyo was driven by news that the Japanese economy grew at a nearly 13% annual pace in the last quarter, and by strong corporate earnings reports.
It was the second straight quarter of growth after a downturn drastically worsened by the impact of the pandemic. The recovery should put the economy on track to recover to pre-pandemic levels by next year, helped